[2] With the family's consent, the police collected DNA samples and asked the National Institute of Scientific Investigation to conduct an inspection.

[3][4] Investigators found that Ko Joon-hee had been buried on a hill in Gunsan, and that she had died of shock caused by physical abuse which included at least three broken ribs at the time of her death.

[6][7][8][9] In the first trial on June 29, 2018, the prosecutors demanded life-in-prison for Ko Joon-hee's father on charges of homicide by abuse.

[13] The court also upheld the original ruling of 160 hours of enrollment in a treatment program on child abuse for the father and his wife.

[14] Furthermore, the court rejected an appeal by Ko's wife, Lee, who was sentenced to four years in prison in the first trial, who helped to bury the child.