[Courtesy of health ministry ]
A controversial murder case went to court Thursday after South Korean prosecutors indicted a 47-year-old woman for killing her husband with a lethal dose of nicotine, a highly unusual weapon that's difficult to detect in a dead body.
Despite strenuous denials, the woman surnamed Song was accused of conspiring with her lover identified only as his family name Hwang to kill the 53-year-old husband. Prosecutors claimed to have secured evidence from Hwang's computer and smartphone and indicted Song and Hwang.
Investigators concluded nicotine was used as a lethal weapon but they still face a difficult legal battle in court. The husband was found dead in April at his home in Seoul's northeastern satellite city of Namyangju.
With no external injuries or evidence of murder, the case was initially seen as a perfect crime, leading Song to take legal steps and inherit assets worth about one billion won (901,713 US dollars) from her husband and an insurance payment of about 80 million won.
Investigators, however, got suspicious because they could not find a clear reason for the sudden death, calling for an autopsy that revealed a high amount of nicotine from the husband who had never smoked, as well as zolpidem, a sedative primarily used for the treatment of insomnia.
Song has maintained an extramarital relationship with Hwang who purchased a crude liquid of nicotine through a Chinese online shopping mall and received 100 million won from the woman. Song was detained at an airport on August 17 when she tried to run away.
Nicotine, a plant alkaloid which works quickly when used with a sedative, could be a lethal poison and easily obtained, but it has rarely been used as a reliable weapon. Lethal amounts of nicotine need to be ingested, absorbed or injected. And it's not easy to disguise nicotine in food.
If a person did ingest a large amount of nicotine, he would most likely vomit much of it out. A smaller amount of nicotine absorbed over time will cause obvious symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, and sweating that the victim is likely to seek treatment.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
