You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 355

“Alright, let’s begin the evidence examination. Last time, the defendant stated that she hadn’t had a chance to properly review the evidence prepared by the prosecution. Has that been properly reviewed this time?”

The reason for scheduling the second trial date was because, during the evidence examination in the first trial, Kim Hwa-young stated that she did not agree with the evidence prepared by the prosecutor.

To be precise, she denied the evidence using every variation she could muster.

She hadn’t seen the evidence records yet, she needed to review them with her lawyer…….

This was not an appropriate response at all, considering she had a team of lawyers from the massive law firm, Taekwang.

Of course, the reason she did so was because Taekwang had instructed her to do so.

They ruined the first trial with such answers to buy time, to determine if anyone had witnessed Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok’s crimes before the second trial, and the evidence examination process naturally carried over to the second trial.

It is a basic principle to inspect and copy the evidence records on the same day as receiving the indictment.

Since it was a private trial anyway, Taekwang seemed to have let the evidence examination slide without worrying about what others thought, but if it were to become known externally, Taekwang’s expertise would be questioned.

Well, they probably didn’t even consider the possibility of it being known externally.

Moreover, the judge’s attitude towards the defendant is also concerning. I heard that he didn’t say a word when she said she couldn’t check the evidence at the time, but now he’s scolding her about whether she’s prepared this time.

When entering a trial related to Wooshin, I came in thinking that if Wooshin set its mind to bribery, who could remain untainted? But the judge’s attitude does feel suspicious.

“We submit a photo reported to the police as evidence.”

Simultaneously with the prosecutor’s words, a photo of Kim Hwa-young strangling the housekeeper appeared on the monitor.

“This photo was reported to the police when the victim was missing and her whereabouts were unknown. It suggests that the defendant’s attempt to murder the victim was not the first time. Even if the actions in the photo were not intended to kill, it is proof that the desire to kill was deep within her.”

As the photo of the strangulation continued to be displayed on the screen, a sobbing sound came from the audience seats.

People who seemed to be the bereaved family were shedding tears while holding their breath.

I haven’t met the bereaved family yet.

If there were any clues to be gained from the bereaved family, I would have tried to meet them somehow, but there was no information I could get from them right now.

However, I have deep regret for them.

Attending the trial would also be a hardship for them.

“I request Detective Lee Jae-soo, who inspected the scene, as a witness.”

Not long after, a detective in casual clothes entered the courtroom.

“I am Lee Jae-soo, a detective from the Gangnam Police Station who was in charge of the investigation at the Jo Yeon-dong villa.”

“When the witness went to the scene, what was the condition of the scene?”

“There were obvious signs of cleaning. There were no bloodstains, and the landscaping was immaculate.”

“Where was the body found?”

“It was under the wall. The soil was thickly piled up, and plants were growing.”

“I see. If there was anything special you found there?”

Lee Jae-soo answered the prosecutor’s question simply.

“It was a brick.”

“A brick. What kind of brick are you talking about?”

“It was a brick used for landscaping. The body had a lot of blood on the back of its head, and when I saw a brick nearby, I thought there might be a connection, so I pulled out all the bricks used for landscaping.”

“You mean they were originally buried?”

“Dozens of them were laid half-buried in the ground, separating the flower beds and lawn areas where the plants were.”

“Are you talking about this part?”

When the prosecutor displayed a photo of the mansion’s flower bed on the screen, the detective nodded.

“That’s right.”

“What happened when you pulled them out?”

“I found a brick with blood on it. As a result of the confirmation, it matched the victim’s blood.”

“Your Honor, I submit the identification documents proving that the blood on the brick and the victim’s blood are from the same person as evidence. That’s all.”

“Defendant’s side, do you have any cross-examination?”

I stood up from my seat.

The detective looked somewhat flustered when I stood up, probably because he thought there would be no cross-examination.

“Witness, you said that you thought of the connection with the brick because the back of the body’s head was dented. So you dug it up right away at the scene?”

“That’s right.”

“The victim has very long hair. It doesn’t seem like you could see that the back of her head was dented at a glance because it was covered by her hair. How did you recognize it right away?”

“In the process of pulling out the body, I felt that it was dented when I touched her head.”

“I see. Then it seems like you could have felt that her head was dented. But the statement that you immediately connected it to the brick gives the impression that there are many correlations omitted. Even if her head is dented, there are many things that could have hit the back of her head.”

“That’s true, but because I saw a brick, I thought that she might have been hit in the head with a brick.”

“I think you know best since you are a current detective. Usually, criminals who commit murder try to hide or get rid of the weapon they used, that is, the instrument of the crime. Especially bricks are easier to get rid of. It is difficult to transport the body, so they leave it at home, but bricks are light and easy to transport. In other words, even if you commit a crime with a brick in Seoul and throw it into the sea off Incheon, there is no inconvenience at all. But why was the brick used in the crime back in the flower bed, neatly buried as it was?”

The reason is obvious.

It is because the instrument of the crime must also be found to be neat in preparation for when the fake perpetrator confesses.

However, since the target has changed and the pre-arranged scenario has gone awry, they will have no choice but to vaguely attribute it to coincidence.

“I don’t know what the defendant was thinking when she did that. But when I turned over the bricks, a brick with bloodstains came out, and I’m just telling the truth.”

“So you happened to touch the back of her head when you took out the body, and it happened to be the dented part, and you also happened to see a brick nearby and thought of the connection, and even though it seems like a normal thought to check if there are any missing bricks from the flower bed, you happened to think of digging up all the half-buried bricks right away?”

“……That’s right.”

Even he himself must think that he is relying too much on coincidence.

“That’s all.”

As I sat down again, the prosecutor requested the next witness.

“Next, I request Dr. Na Jeong-hoon, a forensic doctor from the National Forensic Service [South Korea’s primary forensic investigation agency] who performed the autopsy on the deceased victim, as a witness.”

Forensic doctor.

According to Byun Seung-min’s testimony, when the housekeeper fell after hitting his head on the landscaping stone, the brothers slapped his cheeks to check if the housekeeper was dead.

In the process, their fingerprints would have naturally been on the housekeeper’s skin.

However, there was no mention of Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok anywhere in the autopsy records.

Go Sang-joon must have reached out to all relevant institutions as soon as he knew that his two sons were the culprits and erased the brothers’ traces.

This trial itself is a meaningless public comedy.

I’m the only one trying to film a documentary in a comedy hall.

“…….”

As soon as the man wearing the National Forensic Service gown stood in the witness stand, a photo was sent to the monitor.

It was a photo of the back of the body’s head, and the dented part looked like the back of the head had been hit by something hard.

“Witness, please introduce yourself.”

“I am Na Jeong-hoon, a forensic doctor at the National Forensic Service. I conducted the first and second autopsies of the deceased victim.”

“Dr. Na Jeong-hoon, you stated in your written opinion that the injury to the victim’s occipital region [the back of the head] was the cause of death. How does this occipital injury occur?”

“It is difficult to say because there are too many situations in which occipital injuries can occur, but in the victim’s case, it was a trace of being hit with something like a blunt weapon. Judging from the part where the skull was ruptured, I would guess that she was hit with a hard, angular object of at least 10 centimeters or more.”

“Then how about this brick?”

The prosecutor displayed the brick photo that the detective had released when he testified earlier on the screen.

It was written exactly how long the length and width were with a ruler.

“If there are even traces of blood on that brick, I think it’s definitely it.”

“That’s all.”

“Do you have any cross-examination?”

“No.”

Kim Hwa-young, who was next to me, glanced at me in embarrassment as I let it go without cross-examination.

“It’s okay.”

I said in a subdued voice.

After all, all the evidence is fabricated, and this is the first time I’m properly encountering it.

I don’t think I’ll need it if I have Byun Seung-min’s testimony and evidence, but if a situation arises where I need it, I can overturn it during the third trial.

‘It’s quite a sight.’

I can’t tell my client, but I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded as I engaged in the evidence examination.

All of this evidence was prepared in advance.

If you look at the dates written when I first inspected and copied the case records, it is a case record that existed long before I took on the case from Kim Hwa-young, from when they decided to attach a fake perpetrator.

The actual cause of the housekeeper’s death was hitting the back of her head on a landscaping stone, and the brick never existed from the beginning.

When I first learned about this case after receiving a call from Kim Chan-young, there was no mention of bricks at all.

All of this was created for when the fake perpetrator confessed.

But now the fake perpetrator is no longer needed, and Kim Hwa-young came to me to escape from Go Sang-joon’s grasp.

So all that evidence is being used to attack Kim Hwa-young.

However, I’m curious as to why the person who bribed the National Forensic Service and the police who came out for the inspection at the time didn’t deliver a critical blow that Kim Hwa-young’s fingerprints came out on the brick.

Is he hoping that Kim Hwa-young will come back to him after experiencing the second trial?

“I request Park Hyun-sook, who worked as a housekeeper at the Jo Yeon-dong villa, as a witness.”

I also thought it was unexpected when she was on the witness list at first.

I thought that all the employees who worked in that house were instructed to take a step back, consistently saying, ‘I don’t know anything.’

“I’m Park Hyun-sook, who worked at the Jo Yeon-dong villa for the madam.”

“Witness Park Hyun-sook, you have worked at the Jo Yeon-dong villa for more than 10 years, right?”

“Yes. It’s been 13 years this year.”

“Since the victim also worked as a caretaker at the villa for 10 years, you would have known the victim for 10 years.”

“That’s right.”

“How did the caretaker work at the villa?”

“The madam visited the villa several times a week, and the caretaker resided there and managed the villa. The caretaker was also in charge of managing employees like us. When the madam said she was coming, we would go in advance to clean or do laundry, and when she came, we would cook for her.”

In reality, the caretaker and employees have always resided there and managed the hideout because of Go Sang-joon’s personality, but saying this makes it sound like Kim Hwa-young acted like a queen at the villa.

I didn’t know they would touch on the internal workings of the villa.

This is something that can be said because there is a certainty that Kim Hwa-young will never say that she is in an affair with Go Sang-joon for her son Kim Chan-young.

If Kim Hwa-young were to reveal that the house is Go Sang-joon’s house, and only the name is hers, and that it is a place for secret meetings, then Go Sang-joon would also be dragged into this mess.

But unfortunately, he knew Kim Hwa-young too well.

That Kim Hwa-young hates being talked about by others while living the life of a celebrity, and that she can’t let Kim Chan-young live as the son of a concubine.

That’s why I can’t say anything even though I have a big weapon.

“Since you’ve been with the victim for a long time, you must know her well. What was the relationship between the defendant and the victim usually like?”

“It wasn’t good.”

“Are you saying it was bad?”

“There were many times when they raised their voices. I know that they mainly fought because the victim secretly used the madam’s belongings or used the villa like her own home.”

This issue is a story that Taekwang released to the public as a reason for the conflict between the victim and Kim Hwa-young in order to play the media directly.

Since they did it themselves, they didn’t need to overturn it.

They would have thought of a way to use this well.

“Did she talk to Park Hyun-sook directly about that?”

“The caretaker never told us about that usually.”

“Then where did you hear about it?”

“I think I saw the madam and the caretaker fighting almost every time I went. Because they always fought in the same place…….”

“The same place?”

“Yes. There is a big tree next to the flower bed. There is a small table under it, and the caretaker often sat there. The madam noticed that the caretaker was touching her belongings in the house, and knowing that the caretaker was always there, she ran to that side and fought with the caretaker in a way that she questioned her. She even strangled her there.”

As soon as the witness finished speaking, the prosecutor displayed the photo that he had shown earlier on the screen again.

It was a place where flower beds were separated by bricks.

Kim Hwa-young looked at me with a pale face and shook her head.

She seemed to be barely holding back from shouting that she had never done that.

“Are you talking about here?”

“Ah, yes. That’s the place.”

“Then, on that day, the victim may have touched the defendant’s precious belongings again, and the defendant went to that place to question the victim after discovering the traces, and a fight may have broken out.”

The prosecutor asked again, emphasizing it once more.

So she picked up a brick there by chance and murdered her?