Man in his 80s gets suspended sentence for throwing water bottle at wife with cerebrovascular disease, killing her

A man in his 80s who threw a 2-liter plastic water bottle at his wife — who suffered from cerebrovascular disease — during an argument, killing her, has been sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for four years. The court ruled that the husband could have foreseen his wife's death given her health condition at the time.

The Suncheon Branch of the Gwangju District Court's First Administrative Division, presided over by Judge Kim Yong-gyu, handed down the sentence on May 14 to the defendant, identified only as A, 80, who was charged with aggravated assault resulting in death, according to legal sources. The ruling was finalized after neither side filed an appeal.

In August 2024, A got into an argument with his wife at their home in Yeosu while he was preparing to go out. Investigators found that the victim had long suspected her husband of having an affair. When she asked him who he was going out to see, A flew into a rage and threw an unopened 2-liter water bottle at her face from about 1 meter away, causing her death.

The victim was 77 years old, stood 147 centimeters tall, and had chronic conditions including high blood pressure and diabetes. She had been in poor health since being diagnosed with cerebral infarction in 2015. Too old for surgery, she had been managing her condition through medication and outpatient treatment, but her condition had not improved. A university hospital had told her that her blood vessels could rupture at any time.

During the trial, A argued he was not guilty of the charge, saying he could not have foreseen that throwing the water bottle would cause his wife's death. The charge of aggravated assault resulting in death requires that the defendant used a dangerous object to commit the assault and that the victim's death was a foreseeable consequence.

The court found A guilty. The first-instance ruling stated that it was reasonable to conclude A could have foreseen that his assault might cause the victim's death.

The court noted that even though the water bottle was made of plastic, it weighed approximately 2 kilograms and constituted a dangerous object capable of causing harm to life or the body when thrown forcefully at close range.

The court added that the victim "was in an extremely vulnerable state due to a severely advanced cerebral aneurysm that put her at risk of death," and that A, as her spouse, "knew better than anyone else about her everyday health condition."

The court also noted that a bruise measuring approximately 8 centimeters by 3 centimeters was observed around the left eye socket and cheekbone of the deceased. While it was difficult to determine the exact cause of death, the court said the external force applied to that area may have caused internal bleeding.

The court concluded that even if the victim's pre-existing conditions contributed to her death, the totality of the facts was sufficient to establish a causal link, and found A guilty.

On sentencing, the court said A, as the victim's spouse, was fully aware of how vulnerable the face and head area were, yet failed to control a momentary surge of anger, resulting in her death.

However, the court noted the offense appeared to have been impulsive, and said the victim's extremely fragile health could be considered one of the factors that led to such a grave outcome — a circumstance that warranted some consideration in determining the sentence.

The court also noted that while A had argued for acquittal on legal grounds, he acknowledged all the facts of the offense, was suffering from deep guilt, and showed sincere remorse and reflection.

In addition, the court said the couple's child — the victim's only surviving family member and A's only family — had expressed profound grief while also petitioning for leniency. The court said it took into account A's lack of any prior criminal record aside from a traffic law violation 28 years ago, his advanced age of 80, and his poor health due to glaucoma, among other factors, in determining the sentence.