You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 357

You Are Defended

“Defendant, you may proceed with your questions.”

As the judge granted permission, the reporters in the audience seating area readied their laptops.

This was Kim Hwa-young’s first direct address in court since the initial trial, a moment likely seen as an opportunity to publish articles declaring her ‘active participation in the trial.’

Kim Hwa-young set down her pen and picked up the paper.

During witness examination, the defendant can take notes on the overall content, organize key issues, and directly question the witness.

She could, of course, refer to prepared notes while questioning the witness.

In Kim Hwa-young’s case, Kang Min-jae had compiled and provided the most pertinent points for questioning throughout the witness examination.

Frankly, it was difficult to imagine Kim Hwa-young speaking directly in court.

When I initially suggested it, she declined, expressing doubt in her ability to do so.

However, without her direct involvement, effectively challenging Park Hyun-sook would be impossible.

Also, considering the reporters with audience tickets would likely criticize Kim Hwa-young for appearing intimidated, I believed her active participation would showcase her confidence.

Fortunately, during our meeting yesterday, she recalled her acting days and agreed to try, leading to this moment.

“Haa…”

Kim Hwa-young sighed deeply.

I know that every minute in court is agonizing for her.

More than anything, I want to conclude this swiftly and set her free.

“You testified that you directly witnessed me strangling the victim’s neck, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Specifically, where did you see it?”

The questions Kang Min-jae selected were perfectly targeted.

From Tae-kwang’s perspective, Park Hyun-sook would have carefully chosen the timing of when she witnessed the strangling.

The mere statement ‘I saw it’ wouldn’t lend sufficient credibility to Park Hyun-sook’s claim of directly seeing Kim Hwa-young strangling the housekeeper.

Tae-kwang would have anticipated my focus on that specific point.

In fact, until now, my cross-examination had been subtly steering Park Hyun-sook’s testimony towards a vaguer ‘I saw them fighting, I saw something,’ hadn’t it?

Therefore, Tae-kwang would have limited Park Hyun-sook’s witnessing of ‘Kim Hwa-young strangling the housekeeper’s neck’ to the incident reported to the police.

Asserting that she definitively saw the strangling would bolster Park Hyun-sook’s credibility.

“I saw it in front of the madam’s room on the second floor.”

“You seem to be referring to the day in the photo reported to the police. Then you would also know why I strangled her neck, right?”

“…You did it because the housekeeper touched the madam’s belongings.”

“It’s true that I get angry when someone touches my things, but I’ve only been angry enough to strangle someone once. The housekeeper touched something too precious to me… So, I think my anger exploded at the housekeeper who had been touching and stealing my things until then, and that’s how my hand went out. But that day, I went to the villa and changed my mind, saying I would just go home, so I didn’t call any of the employees. Why were you there?”

“I remember calling the housekeeper and then calling again to tell her not to come, but I didn’t receive that call, so I just went.”

The day in the photo was the day Ko Sang-joon suddenly canceled his schedule, so Kim Hwa-young also returned home unexpectedly.

The housekeeper was rude to Kim Hwa-young, questioning why she wasn’t leaving, and Kim Hwa-young, feeling pressured by that attitude, went back to the annex to confront her.

It was then that she discovered the housekeeper wearing Kim Hwa-young’s dress and diamond necklace, causing Kim Hwa-young to lose her temper and strangle the housekeeper’s neck.

Afterward, the housekeeper removed the diamond necklace and dress and fled, and Kim Hwa-young spent a considerable time in the annex trying to catch her, which was interpreted as ample time for Kim Hwa-young to murder the housekeeper.

On that day, no one was captured on the CCTV at the Jo Yeon-dong annex.

And after that day, the housekeeper could not be contacted, and her GPS signal stopped at the annex.

That’s why Kim Hwa-young became the prime suspect.

No one would have known.

That the date in the photo reported to the police was the day the police identified as the day Kim Hwa-young murdered the housekeeper.

Even Kim Hwa-young didn’t remember that day clearly, so she couldn’t provide any details during the police investigation.

“Did you definitely come to my villa that day?”

“Yes.”

“Then you would have seen what item of mine the housekeeper touched that day that made me lash out. What was it?”

“It was the madam’s diamond necklace and dress.”

“That’s right. You really came that day. I saw the housekeeper wearing my dress that day, and I was so mad that I took it away and took off my clothes to wear it first. It must have been a really… pathetic sight. You saw that. Haa, it seems certain.”

Kim Hwa-young said with a sigh.

She appeared completely exposed and emotionally drained.

Park Hyun-sook, sensing an advantage, emphasized her point once more.

“Yes. It’s certain.”

“…That’s all.”

Kim Hwa-young’s part concluded there.

She sat back down, looking exhausted, and the judge turned to me.

“Counsel, do you have any further questions?”

“Your Honor, there’s something peculiar about the preceding exchange.”

“What is it?”

“The day Park Hyun-sook testified to witnessing the defendant strangling the victim coincides with the day depicted in the photo presented by the prosecutor at the beginning of the evidence examination—the photo of the defendant strangling the victim. It appears Park Hyun-sook was definitely present that day.”

“So?”

“Furthermore, the day in the photo was the decisive factor in identifying the defendant as the perpetrator because CCTV footage showed no one else entering or leaving the villa except the defendant and the victim. However, not only the victim and the defendant but also Park Hyun-sook were definitely there that day. Therefore, there’s a possibility that Park Hyun-sook murdered the victim.

In particular, there’s something odd about the CCTV footage. If Park Hyun-sook was there, her departure should have been recorded, yet it wasn’t. This suggests she either left secretly through blind spots or erased the CCTV recording by some means. If there was no issue, why would she bother to erase her visit?”

“I never erased any records! And I never murdered the housekeeper, and there’s no reason to! And how can you specify that the day was the day the madam killed the housekeeper? It might not be that day!”

Park Hyun-sook shouted, looking pale.

She seemed genuinely surprised by the accusation.

Indeed.

If she knew that the day in the photo was the day Kim Hwa-young was suspected of killing the housekeeper, Tae-kwang wouldn’t have instructed her to testify to witnessing it.

She might have tried to match the date in the photo with the CCTV recording, but that would have been impossible.

As Kim Hwa-young mentioned earlier, she first removed her clothes to take the dress away and wear it just before strangling the housekeeper’s neck.

So, she was wearing a white sleeveless shirt in the photo, and she would have put her clothes back on when she left, so she would have looked different.

In other words, her appearance in the photo and her appearance in the CCTV were different.

That’s why you can’t try to track the date by comparing the appearance in the photo with the CCTV.

“Witness, your examination hasn’t concluded. If you withdraw your testimony before it ends, you won’t be punished for perjury. This opportunity disappears once the examination is over.”

The prosecutor, who had been listening quietly, interjected as I was about to make my most crucial point.

“Your Honor! The defense attorney is making statements irrelevant to the cross-examination!”

“I acknowledge that. I will refrain from doing so.”

He claims it’s irrelevant, but what can I do?

Even if leading questions are permitted in cross-examination, I understand the prosecutor’s reluctance to induce a withdrawal of testimony.

Still, from Park Hyun-sook’s perspective, retracting her testimony and being removed from the suspect list would be preferable to being newly added to it.

Even if she took the job after receiving money from Woo-shin, how could she endure the stress of being a suspect, facing prosecution, and being prominently featured in the news?

Perhaps she fears Woo-shin might abandon her.

She works in Woo-shin’s most private space, so she knows them very well.

“Evidence to prove why the temporal background of the photo is the day the defendant was identified as having murdered the victim will be presented all at once when presenting the defendant’s evidence. That’s all…”

“…Yo, Yo, Your Honor!”

Park Hyun-sook shouted loudly just before I finished speaking.

“I, I withdraw my testimony!”

The courtroom erupted in murmurs at Park Hyun-sook’s words.

The reporters began typing furiously, and even the bereaved family members widened their eyes in surprise.

The prosecutor and Tae-kwang’s side, sitting in the audience, looked visibly upset.

In fact, Park Hyun-sook’s declaration of withdrawing her testimony is quite a dangerous move considering her position.

The best course of action would be to request a recess and renegotiate with Woo-shin’s side, but I couldn’t announce that in a public setting.

“Witness, what do you mean by withdrawing your testimony?”

“Everything, everything is a lie. I, I… I must have been crazy. I had personal, personal grudges against the madam, so I lied…”

Still, she didn’t admit to being paid by Woo-shin and Tae-kwang, indicating her fear.

It would have been easier for us if she had claimed they instructed her to lie, but this is still significant.

Even so, making this decision couldn’t have been easy, highlighting her fear of becoming a suspect.

It also demonstrates her lack of trust in Woo-shin.

It’s a prime example of their inability to properly care for their own people.

“Are you saying you committed perjury?”

“The witness examination hasn’t ended yet… According to what the lawyer here said, even if it’s perjury, I won’t be punished for perjury, right? Right?”

The judge looked flustered.

The judge muted the microphone and conferred briefly with the associate judges on either side.

Soon, he sighed and responded.

“Park Hyun-sook’s testimony is discarded. It will not be used as any basis for judgment.”

The prosecutor rubbed his forehead.

I feel a twinge of sympathy, as his carefully prepared testimony has been completely dismissed.

Then, is it my turn now?

“Your Honor, a witness to prove that the date in the photo presented by the prosecutor is the day the defendant was identified as having murdered the victim is now present in court. Additionally, there is a witness with conclusive evidence that the defendant did not murder the victim. I request a supplementary witness examination.”