Woman, 23, gets 5 years for stabbing grandfather to death; court finds no proof of murder intent

A court sentenced a woman in her 20s to five years in prison for fatally stabbing her paternal grandfather with a kitchen knife. Prosecutors had sought 20 years on charges of murdering a lineal ascendant, but the court found that intent to kill had not been sufficiently proven and instead convicted her of assault causing the death of a lineal ascendant.

Judge Choi Kyung-seo of the Seoul Northern District Court's Criminal Division 11 sentenced Noh, 23, to five years in prison on Friday, also ordering the confiscation of the kitchen knife used in the attack. The five-year term is the statutory minimum for assault causing the death of a lineal ascendant. The court added that it had taken into account that the defendant acknowledged the offense and showed remorse, that the act appeared to have been impulsive and arose from accumulated conflict with her grandfather, and that the victim's surviving family members did not seek punishment.

Noh was indicted on charges of stabbing her paternal grandfather in the back of his left shoulder with a kitchen knife during an argument at their shared home in Dapsimni-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, at around 11:30 a.m. on May 18, causing his death.

The central issue at trial was whether she had acted with intent to kill. Noh's defense acknowledged that she had stabbed the victim but argued that she had no intention of killing him, and that the charge of assault causing death of a lineal ascendant should apply instead.

Prosecutors presented as circumstantial evidence of murderous intent the fact that Noh had asked a generative AI questions related to killing and watched related YouTube videos before the incident, and that she had written notes containing abusive language directed at the victim.

The court rejected that interpretation, saying the AI responses had encouraged impulse control and counseling, and that some of the videos urged viewers to focus on their own lives rather than seek revenge. "Connecting these to the murder in this case would be an overreach," the court said.

The court also declined to treat the fact that Noh had kept the kitchen knife in her room and had attempted to purchase chemicals including hydrochloric acid as evidence of a premeditated plan to kill. It noted that other sharp objects were available in the kitchen and that the chemicals were never actually used in the attack, concluding that it was difficult to find she had made advance preparations to kill the victim.

The court paid particular attention to the manner and location of the attack. Noh had retreated to her room to avoid the argument but came back out with the knife after her grandfather continued to behave aggressively, using abusive language. She did not stab him directly in the chest or other vital areas from the front. The wound nonetheless proved fatal when the blade penetrated the chest cavity.

"It is generally the case that someone who intends to kill — even with only contingent intent — would stab a vital area," the court said. "It is difficult to rule out reasonable doubt that the defendant swung the knife with the intent to kill the victim."

The investigation also found that Noh had performed CPR on her grandfather at the direction of paramedics in an attempt to save his life. "The evidence submitted by the prosecution alone is insufficient to establish intent to kill," the court said.

The court nonetheless said that "even if the defendant had suffered unjust treatment at the hands of the victim, that cannot justify the act."