A man was yesterday found guilty of murdering his parents to claim an insurance payout and inherit family property.
Wang Chung-yi (王忠義), 40, and his wife, Chen Li-ya (陳麗雅), also 40, were accused of murdering Wang’s parents after their bodies were found in creeks in Nantou County in 2014.
The Nantou District Court handed Wang a life sentence, while Chen was found not guilty.
Wang had been detained since judicial procedures began last year, while Chen was released after posting bail and had been taking care of their son, who is attending elementary school.
After the court announced its decision, Chen told reporters: “We cannot accept it, the investigation process has caused our son a lot of harm... My husband has been detained for more than a year.”
She said she would appeal the ruling.
The body of Wang’s father was found in a creek in the mountains of Nantou’s Renai Township (仁愛) in May 2014, while his mother’s body was found in a creek in Nantou’s Guosing Township (國姓) in October that year.
Both were found to have drowned, although an autopsy on Wang’s father showed he was hit in the back of the head before falling into the water.
Wang reported to police that his parents had gone missing, but investigators said numerous inconsistencies in his story and evidence from the autopsy led to the suspicion that the couple had a hand in the deaths.
After monitoring the couple and gathering evidence, police raided their home in March last year, taking them in for questioning.
Authorities brought murder charges against the couple in July last year, with Chen being released after posting bail of NT$200,000 (US$6,175).
Prosecutors claimed Wang plotted the murders and his wife assisted his efforts.
The couple tried to make the deaths look like accidents so they could inherit a family farmland, estimated to be worth more than NT$10 million, and to claim an insurance payout that they had taken out on Wang’s mother, prosecutors said.
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