The controversial case questioning whether live octopus can be used as a murder weapon is being revisited.
On the 27th, the YouTube channel 'Hyeongsa Deul-ui Suda' will air the 30th episode of E-channel's original web variety show 'Hyeongsooda' Season 2 (hereafter 'Hyeongsooda 2'), featuring former judge turned lawyer Jung Jae-min and Kim Nam-il.
The episode begins with 'Today's Food Detective' Jung Jae-min offering fresh live octopus to the cast. The case discussed is related to live octopus, which sparked significant controversy over whether it could be used for murder. Kwon Il-yong recalls, "As soon as I heard about it, I remembered a case that had a lot of controversies."
The incident began one early morning with a man's urgent call to a motel front desk, claiming, "My girlfriend isn't breathing," and requesting an ambulance. After the call, the boyfriend rushed to the front desk for help, and when the staff accompanied him to the room, they found the girlfriend unconscious near the door. The boyfriend carried her outside, where an arriving ambulance took her to a nearby hospital. Although she regained breathing, she remained in a coma.
The boyfriend claimed they had been drinking and playing games nearby, and his girlfriend drank heavily as a penalty. They returned to the motel with packaged live octopus for a second round of drinks when she suddenly choked and stopped breathing. However, the motel staff testified that a large towel and a whole octopus were found next to the collapsed girlfriend, with another cut-up live octopus in seawater nearby.
Suspicion grew when an insurance certificate arrived after the girlfriend's death. The beneficiary was the boyfriend, and the insurance amount was 200 million won, not the 50 million won he had mentioned to his family. The boyfriend claimed he intended to receive the insurance on her behalf due to her critical condition and that the broker arbitrarily increased the amount.
Ahn Jung-hwan and Kim Nam-il expressed disbelief, saying, "That's ridiculous." Investigations revealed the incident occurred less than a month after the insurance was taken out, and the beneficiary had always been the boyfriend. He continued paying premiums while she was in a critical state and even contacted the insurance company to inquire about receiving the payout and the possibility of returning it if her parents sued.
The main issue was whether murder by live octopus was possible. The first trial court noted the girlfriend's severe tooth decay, which made it difficult for her to eat tough foods. The boyfriend claimed she ate live octopus and that he removed it from her mouth in front of the motel staff, but this was proven false.
If the incident was an accident due to live octopus consumption, the boyfriend could be acquitted. Two out of three forensic experts opined that removing a live octopus from the mouth was difficult, and the cause of death was presumed to be suffocation due to pressure.
The boyfriend was revealed to be a credit defaulter with significant debt, yet he had been telling people he would soon come into a large sum of money. After receiving the insurance payout, he cleared his debts, bought a house for his family, and gifted a car to another girlfriend he was seeing. The first trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment, but six months later, the second trial acquitted him, overturning the case.
Upon hearing the case details, Ahn Jung-hwan reportedly told Jung Jae-min, who had initially offered the octopus, "I'll never eat octopus again!" The reasons behind the overturned verdict and the role of the live octopus in this case will be revealed on 'Hyeongsooda 2'.
Tae Yuna, TenAsia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr