Society

Tokyo woman accused of attempting to kill newborn boy by burying him alive

Aug 23 (tokyoreporter.com) - Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 35-year-old woman for allegedly attempting to kill her newborn boy by burying him alive in Higashi-Murayama City earlier this month, reports the Sankei Shimbun.

At 9:30 a.m. on August 2, Shiho Komatsu, a company employee, allegedly covered her son with soil along the riverbed of the Kabori River in the Ontacho area just after giving birth in an attempt to suffocate him.

Komatsu, who has been accused of attempted murder, admits to the allegations. "My feeling wasn't that of killing but to cover [a child] with soil is the same as killing," the suspect was quoted by police, according to Nippon News Network (Aug. 23).

About 24 hours after Komatsu committed the crime, the boy was found at the riverbed by a local resident. At the time of the discovery, the boy had a temperature of 39 degrees Centigrade. The child is currently recovering from a number infectious diseases and an outbreak of jaundice.

DNA analysis

Komatsu became a person of interest in the case for police after an examination of persons in the area who recently appeared pregnant but no longer were. The results of a DNA analysis on the boy's umbilical cord proved to be a match for the suspect.

Komtasu is employed at the company as a driver who works night shifts. In the early morning hours of August 2, the suspect gave birth to the child in a toilet at her office in Saitama Prefecture. She then carried the baby by bicycle to the riverbed, police said.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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