“Maggots on Dead Child’s Genitals” ... 6-Month-Old Starved to Death; Mother Searched for “Insurance Payout”

[Financial News]  Further details of abuse by a couple in their 20s, who were charged with leaving their six-month-old son unattended and causing his death, emerged in court. Maggots were found on the deceased baby’s body, and the biological father reportedly asked an AI about the possible punishment after his son died.  

According to Yonhap News Agency and other outlets on the 26th, at the trial of A, 22, and B, 22, on charges of child abuse resulting in murder, held before the 13th Criminal Division of the Daejeon District Court, presided over by Judge Jang Min-gyeong, the prosecutor said during questioning of the defendants, “Maggots were found on the deceased baby’s genitals, and the area was badly ulcerated.”
Asked by the prosecutor whether he knew about this, A, the child’s biological father, said, “I found out later.” B, the child’s biological mother, said, “I think it happened because I wasn’t changing his diapers properly,” but maintained, “I changed his diaper every time I fed him formula.”
It also emerged that A asked an AI after the baby died, “How much punishment would someone face if a child dies?” A explained, “I searched because I was panicking.”
It emerged that for several months, starting about a month after giving birth, B searched a portal site for terms including “newborn death insurance payout,” “I want to kill my child,” and “meaning of death by starvation.” B said, “I searched those terms to find comfort because I had postpartum depression.”
It was also newly confirmed that in April, the couple left their then-four-month-old son at home with their pet Border Collie and were away for 27 hours and 46 minutes.
A and B were charged with leaving their son home alone and neglecting him a total of 140 times between December 22 last year, when he was about 10 days old, and July 5 this year, including going to PC rooms and traveling, and with failing to provide basic care and custody.
The baby weighed 3.62 kg at birth in December last year, but weighed only 3.68 kg on July 5, when he died
Prosecutors believe the couple could have foreseen their son’s death, citing their repeated neglect of the child, failure to properly feed him formula, and failure to take him to a hospital immediately even though he had bloody stools and unfocused eyes the day before he died. However, in court that day, the couple again denied intent to kill, saying, “We didn’t know he would die.”

Meanwhile, the parents of A and B, who are the child’s grandparents, reportedly submitted petitions to the court stating that they did not want the defendants punished.
The victim’s lawyer stressed, “The prosecution’s records clearly show that the defendants realized several days before the child died that they could be reported for child abuse if the child’s condition became known to others,” adding, “Given the condition of the victimized child and other factors, there is ample evidence of conditional intent to kill.”
The lawyer added, “The victim’s grandparents also have the dual status of being the defendants’ parents,” and said, “It is questionable whether the petitions opposing punishment were submitted solely in the interests of the child victim. This should be fully considered, and the petitions’ validity should be rejected.”
The court plans to hold one more hearing next month before proceeding to closing arguments.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter