Woman in her 50s gets 14 years for beating dementia-stricken mother to death over inheritance dispute

A woman in her 50s has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for beating her elderly mother, who had dementia, to death after growing resentful that the family's assets had been transferred to her younger brother.

The 12th Criminal Division of the Ulsan District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Yeong-je, sentenced the woman, identified only as A, on charges of patricide — the killing of a parent — Thursday.

A was indicted on charges of assaulting and killing her mother, identified as B, at B's home in Nam-gu, Ulsan, in November last year.

A struck B multiple times in the bathroom using her hands, fists and a showerhead, and kicked and stomped on her chest and abdomen. Investigators found that B suffered lacerations to the head and fractures across her body, and died about 50 minutes later.

A, the eldest daughter, had learned that her parents had given a commercial building and an apartment to her younger brother without telling her, leaving her feeling aggrieved. She had also been in conflict with her siblings over the sale of the real estate.

After their father died, A had taken sole responsibility for caring for her mother, who had dementia. On the day of the incident, she had been drinking when her pent-up resentment boiled over into violence.

"The victim, who appeared too weak to properly dodge or fend off the defendant's attacks, ended her life in pain and fear that is difficult to fathom," the court said.

The court cited several mitigating factors in handing down the sentence: A had called emergency services herself after the attack and arranged for her mother to be taken to hospital, the crime was impulsive rather than premeditated, and she had been B's primary caregiver during her illness.