Location: Japan – Page 6 – Disability Day of Mourning

Yasuko Uechi

No Photo Name: Yasuko Uechi.
Died: December 18, 2015.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Kihocho, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified physical disability.

Details:
For some time, Yasuko had been asking her son to buy her a powered wheelchair; eventually she bought one for herself. Yasuko’s son allegedly suffocated her because he was angry she had bought a wheelchair he said he couldn’t afford.

Case status:
Norio Uechi; arrested for murder.

Source:
Mie cops: Man killed disabled mother over wheelchair purchase
Man kills his mother because she bought a wheelchair without his permission

Kazuko Saito

No Photo Name: Kazuko Saito.
Died: December 13, 2015.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Sharp-force trauma.
Location: Tokyo, Japan.
Disability: Developmental disability.

Details:
Kazuko’s sister killed her with a knife, then committed suicide.

Case status:
Fumiko Saito (Sister), deceased.

Source:
Murder-suicide suspected after discovery of sisters’ corpses
2 sisters dead in apparent murder-suicide

Yoki Fujita

No Photo Name: Yoki Fujita.
Died: November 23, 2015.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Saitama, Japan.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Ms. Fujita’s husband was scheduled for surgery on his neck, and was worried that he would no longer be able to care for her. He had been approved for public assistance, but rejected elderly-care services.

Just before he was due for the surgery, Ms. Fujita’s husband talked to her daughter, explained that he wanted to kill his wife and commit suicide, and asked her to help him. She agreed, drove them both to the river, and drowned them.

Case status:
Atsuko Namikata (Daughter), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 4 years.
Yoshihide Fujita (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Woman pleads guilty to murder, assisted suicide of parents
Father’s scheduled surgery possibly linked to suicide assisted by daughter
Woman jailed for 4 years for murder, assisted suicide of parents

Shigeko Igarashi

No Photo Name: Shigeko Igarashi.
Died: October 25, 2015.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Kawaguchi City, Japan.
Disability: Hemiplegia.

Details:
Shigeko was allegedly strangled by her daughter. Police say her daughter admitted to the crime, telling them she had done it because she was tired from looking after her mother.

Case status:
Yuki Igarashi (Daughter), charged with murder.

Source:
Saitama cops arrest woman for strangling her disabled mother

Sayane Kishimoto

Name: Sayane Kishimoto.
Died: June 15, 2014.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan.
Disability: Congenital myopathy.

Details:
Sayane died from malnutrition. On autopsy, non-food items were found in her stomach, and she weighed half of what she should have.

Case status:
Yuki Kishimoto (Father), convicted of negligence, 18-month suspended sentence.
Her mother, arrested; charges unknown.

Source:
Parents arrested for starving 3-year-old daughter to death
High court overturns ruling on death of disabled child

Minoru Hioki

No Photo Name: Minoru Hioki.
Died: September 20, 2013.
Age at death: 75.
Cause of death: Cyanide poisoning.
Location: Muko City, Kyoto, Japan.
Disability: Lung cancer.

Details:
Mr. Hioki moved in with a woman he had met through a dating service. When he went to take his health supplements, he did not know his wife had poisoned the capsules. When he began gasping for breath and passed out, his wife refused resuscitation on his behalf, telling medics that he was dying of lung cancer and had no children, even though his lung cancer was in remission and he had several children. Mr. Hioki’s death was initially ruled natural, as was that of Masanori Honda, who had also been living with the same woman. However, when she made the mistake of killing a healthy man whose death could not be written off, an autopsy was done and cyanide poisoning was discovered in all three bodies.

Case Status:
Chisako Kakehi (Common-law Wife), convicted of three murders, sentenced to death.

Sources:
The 74-year-old ‘Black Widow’ killer who murdered her lovers with cyanide
Alleged black widow gets second cyanide charge
‘Black Widow’ charged in Japan over death of husband No. 4

Masanori Honda

No Photo Name: Masanori Honda.
Died: March 9, 2012.
Age at death: 71.
Cause of death: Cyanide poisoning.
Location: Kaizuka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Diabetes.

Details:
Mr. Honda moved in with a woman he had met through a dating service. Shortly afterward, he suffered heart failure while riding his motorcycle and died. His death was initially ruled natural, as was that of Minoru Hioki, who had also been living with the same woman. However, when she made the mistake of killing a healthy man whose death could not be written off, an autopsy was done and cyanide poisoning was discovered in all three bodies.

Case Status:
Chisako Kakehi (Common-law Wife), convicted of three murders, sentenced to death.

Sources:
Wikipedia: Chisako Kakehi
The 74-year-old ‘Black Widow’ killer who murdered her lovers with cyanide
Alleged black widow gets second cyanide charge
‘Black Widow’ charged in Japan over death of husband No. 4

Yasushi Yamamoto

No Photo Name: Yasushi Yamamoto.
Died: March 5, 2011.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Tokyo, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified mental illness.

Details:
Mr. Yamamoto’s family took him out of the hospital where he was being treated. His son, a doctor, killed him later that day. Prosecutors say that they considered Mr. Yamamoto to be “burdensome” because of his illness.

Case Status:
Junko Yamamoto (Wife), convicted of conspiracy to murder, sentenced to 11 years.
Naoki Yamamoto (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 13 years.
Yoshikazu Okubo (Doctor; acquaintance), charged with murder.

Sources:
Woman gets 11 yrs for murder of mentally ill husband with son’s help in Japan
Woman denies killing mentally ill husband with help of doctor son
Kyoto court hands ex-doctor 13 yrs in prison for murdering father
Doctors held over ‘mercy killing’ accused in another death