Man arrested for stabbing wife, killing her mother

A man in his 40s was arrested over the weekend for allegedly stabbing his mother-in-law to death and severely injuring his wife after the two women berated him for drinking too much without having a stable job. Their 8-year-old daughter was nearby when the event unfolded.

The suspect fled the scene but was caught by police approximately 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away seven hours later. Police filed a pre-trial detention warrant for the suspect on allegations of homicide and attempted murder. His wife is currently being hospitalized in an intensive care unit. The couple’s daughter has been sent to a relative’s home for protection.

On Friday at around 9:40 p.m., the suspect, a 47-year-old man surnamed Lee, was drunk in his home in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi, said police. His wife, 44, and mother-in-law, 68, began criticizing his drinking and belittled him for being unemployed, Lee said during police questioning.

Enraged, Lee went to the kitchen and brought back a knife to kill them both. After stabbing the two women, he threw the knife out his window and ran out of the house. The 8-year-old girl who was left alone ran to a neighbor’s house and banged on the door, yelling that her parents had a fight and her dad had brandished a knife. The neighbor immediately ran to the scene and called police.

The mother-in-law died on her way to the hospital. Police tracked down the suspect, who was hiding in an alley. Lee admitted to committing the murder, saying it was “accidental” because he was drunk at that time, according to police.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]