71-year-old woman suspected of murdering three older family members due to stress of caregiving

Nov 19, 2019 | News On Japan

Nov 19, 2019 (Japan Times) - A 71-year-old woman in central Japan suspected of murdering her husband has told investigators she strangled her in-laws as well, local police said Monday, pointing to the stress of being the sole caregiver in the family as a possible motive.

Masako Kishimoto was arrested Sunday for allegedly choking her husband Takio, 70, to death with a towel while he was asleep at their home in the city of Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, in the early hours that day.

The bodies of Takioâ€™s father Yoshio, 93, and mother Shinobu, 95, were also discovered.

â€œI choked the three of them to death,â€ she was quoted as saying by police. Takio had difficulties walking after suffering a minor stroke, while Shinobu had been certified by authorities as needing care, according to the investigators.

On Monday police searched the house where the four had lived. They suspect Masako had been motivated to kill the three because she was exhausted from taking care of all of them.

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