Mr. K, a defendant who stands accused of murdering his girlfiend in April of 2010, claims that an octopus actually choked his girlfriend to death. According to testimony, Mr. K and Ms. Y (his girlfriend) ate dinner, during which Y consumed, according to Mr. K, Sannakji then collapsed and stopped breathing.

It’s the old “Octopus choke” defense strategy, if you hadn’t heard.

Sannakji is octopus that has just been slayed prior to being served. Apparently this octopus can still twitch while it’s on the plate, and it’s possible for its tentacles to stick to a surface such as the throat or esophagus, creating an obstruction in the respiratory system.

Here is the catch, though, and it’s not the octopus: Ms. Y took out a 200,000,000 won (US$175,000) life insurance policy a mere one month before her death. And who was the beneficiary? Mr. K.

(Aside: does anyone else find it surreal at this point that Mr. K and Ms. Y can be rendered KY?)

Prosecutors claim that Mr. K forged the insurance policy and that he ”murdered Y with the intent to claim her insurance money. K then made it look like Y choked on a squirming octopus. Furthermore, the defendant has a criminal record including robbery and assault, and while dating Ms. Y he was seeing two other women.”

Forensic officials testified that there were no traces of octopus in Y’s system, but no official autopsy was performed before Y’s body was cremated, so those claims cannot be proven. K will probably go free and people everywhere will think twice about eating Sannakji in the presence of their significant other.

(Via)