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Woman found dead in suitcase was living with daughter to protect her from abusive husband, police say

Published: 03 Apr. 2026, 15:40

A married couple accused of killing the wife’s mother and abandoning her body in a stream are seen at Daegu District Court in Daegu on April 2. [NEWS1]

A woman who was found dead in a suitcase in Daegu had been living with her daughter to protect her from domestic violence by her son-in-law, who is suspected of beating the mother to death, police said Friday.

The victim moved in with the couple after her daughter began suffering abuse from her husband shortly after their marriage in September last year, according to the Daegu Bukbu Police Precinct on Friday.

Police said the son-in-law, surnamed Cho, began assaulting the mother in February after the family moved to a studio apartment in Jung District, Daegu. He reportedly cited reasons such as the victim not organizing the moving boxes quickly enough.

Despite the daughter, surnamed Choi, urging her to leave, the victim continued living in the apartment. Police said Cho beat her over a prolonged period, eventually leading to her death on March 18.

After the crime, Cho allegedly placed the body in a suitcase and, together with Choi, walked 10 to 20 minutes to dispose of it near the Sincheon Stream in Chilseong-dong, Buk District.

He then allegedly threatened his wife, telling her “not to report the crime” and “not to contact anyone,” and controlled her daily activities.

A man and his wife are seen with a suitcase that was later found to have carried the body of the man's mother-in-law, in this CCTV footage from a shop on a street where the pair passed in Daegu on March 18. [YONHAP]

For about two weeks, until the body was discovered, he reportedly stayed with her even when going out. Police said the wife did not report the crime because she feared retaliation.

Police discovered the suitcase containing the body in the Sincheon Stream on Tuesday and arrested the couple the same day.

Cho remains in custody on charges of parricide and abandonment of a corpse, while Choi is being held on charges of abandoning a corpse. In Korea, the crime of parricide also applies to killing one's parent-in-law.

Police said they are also investigating whether to apply additional charges related to domestic violence against Choi.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK JONG-SUH [[email protected]]