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| ▲ This undated file photo, provided by the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, shows murder suspect Jung Yoo-jung. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) Busan murder suspect-court
(LEAD) Prosecutors demand death penalty for suspect in grisly Busan murder
(ATTN: UPDATES with details of prosecutors' comments, Jung's lawyer)
BUSAN, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors on Monday demanded the death penalty for the suspect behind a high-profile murder in the southeastern city of Busan who allegedly committed the crime "out of curiosity about murder".
Jung Yoo-jung, 23, was indicted on charges of killing a female freelance tutor, with whom she had no personal connection, then dismembering and abandoning her body on May 26.
In the final hearing at Busan District Court on Monday, prosecutors demanded the death penalty for Jung, saying she had murdered a victim she had never met as a means of resolving one's anger and spread the fear that anyone could be murdered for no reason. The prosecution also requested the court to order Jung to wear an electronic tracking device and be put under probation for 10 years.
"The defendant has no chance for reform, and there is no possibility for the court decision to be wrong," prosecutors said, noting the suspect needs to be "permanently isolated from society."
Jung's lawyer, however, asked the court for a reduced sentence, claiming she was suffering from an unspecified bipolar disorder deriving from her unfortunate circumstances growing up.
During the hearing, Jung apologized to the bereaved families of the victim and said she will put in a great deal of effort to live with a law-abiding spirit as a member of society. "I am working hard on studying Chinese and Japanese," she said, adding, "I sincerely hope for an opportunity to live as a new person after being reformed."
According to the prosecutors, Jung displayed extreme cruelty by stabbing the victim, also in her 20s, more than 110 times with a weapon prepared in advance during her crime.
Police later referred Jung to the prosecution with two additional charges of preparing or conspiring to commit murder against two people she had met via a second-hand transaction app, a few days before the crime.
The sentencing hearing is scheduled to be held on November 24.
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