Sprayer [Yonhap News file photo]The cruel crime of a man in his 30s, who was sentenced to a heavy penalty for concealing the body of his live-in girlfriend for three and a half years after murdering her, has been revealed through the court ruling.

According to the Incheon District Court on the 23rd, Mr. A (38, male) first met Ms. B, a woman in her 30s, in October 2015 while working as a store employee in Japan.

Ms. B had divorced her husband in 2006 and was raising her son alone.

The two grew closer and began living together in a studio apartment in early 2016, but the following year, Mr. A, whose illegal stay was discovered, was forcibly deported to Korea.

Mr. A became obsessed with Ms. B, who was separated from him, and contacted her acquaintances multiple times.

Ms. B, who was trying to avoid his persistent contact, came to Korea in February 2018 to visit her mother in the hospital. This was the beginning of misfortune.

Mr. A took Ms. B's passport and forced her to live with him. The two lived together again in a studio apartment in Incheon, continuing their common-law marital relationship.

Ms. B, whose resident registration had been canceled, could not open bank accounts or even get a mobile phone. She had to live under Mr. A's strict control. Mr. A prevented Ms. B from contacting her family and only gave her cash when she needed living expenses.

Ms. B's sister reported her missing to the police, and they were finally able to contact Ms. B. However, this contact was again severed due to Mr. A's interference. Ms. B became completely isolated from society.

The case unfolded when Mr. A was indicted for fraud involving 300 million won.

On January 10, 2021, the day before the first trial verdict, Mr. A got into an argument with Ms. B while drinking.

When Ms. B, who was struggling with the prospect of visiting him in prison and financial issues if he were to be detained, said she was "going to see her son," Mr. A strangled her to death.

To conceal his crime, he left Ms. B's body in the studio apartment and maintained the lease agreement monthly while checking the condition of the body.

He sprayed a mixture of detergent and water, along with air freshener, on the body and throughout the room using a sprayer. He burned incense and turned on the air conditioner and fan to prevent the smell from spreading outside the house.

It was also investigated that he managed Ms. B's body for a long period by spraying insecticide to kill maggots that appeared on the corpse.

Mr. A periodically visited the studio apartment where the body was hidden, and he led a double life, even meeting a new woman and having a child.

Later, in June of the previous year, when Mr. A was arrested for fraud and was no longer able to manage the body, the full extent of the murder case was revealed.

In July of the same year, the building manager reported to the police that there was a bad odor coming from a room where the resident could not be contacted. Ms. B's body was discovered at the scene three and a half years after the murder.

The Incheon District Court's Criminal Division 14 (Presiding Judge Son Seung-beom) sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted for murder and concealment of a corpse, to 27 years in prison in a recent sentencing hearing.

The court also ordered Mr. A to wear an electronic tracking device (electronic ankle monitor) for 15 years after his release from prison.

The court ruled, "The defendant's act of leaving and concealing the victim's body for a long period is so horrific and malicious that it trampled on human dignity," and stated, "It is sufficient to be considered as having virtually insulted and destroyed the corpse."

It added, "The victim was left alone, with her life extinguished, under the defendant's control, unable to leave the scene of the crime or inform her family of her whereabouts," and concluded, "Severe punishment commensurate with the crime is appropriate."

Mr. A appealed the first trial verdict, filing an appeal with the Incheon District Court on the 19th.