8-year-old girl dies in Okayama from strangulation; mother in hospital with stab wounds

The mother was 51?? Is that a misprint?

When I saw that the mother was 51, and the child was special needs, that sort of makes sense. And of course when I saw that the father was at work while the mother was stabbed, but not killed, and the knife was on the floor beside her, I'm thinking she may have done this herself. Both pure speculation of course but not implausible...

What is wrong with mother being 51? It means she got pregnant when she was 42. That is not uncommon any more....

@Richard Wood

There's nothing "wrong", it's just that the risk of Down syndrome and similar increases as the mother grows older. Some people try hard to have kids and when they do at a later age, sometimes this happens. It's quite a sad story.

Based on the story, it seems like a case of Filicide..the deliberate act of a parent killing his or her own son or daughter. RIP young one !!

in some ways, this could be considered a mercy killing. growing up with special needs is daunting in any country, and i can only assume it's even more difficult in japan where conformity is the rule. but i'd rather give my child up for adoption than kill it. she must have been so physically and mentally drained in order to do something like this.

Seriously, when it's a young-ish mother involved there's a lot of browbeating about "children having children," etc. But when it's an older mother, who is presumably mature enough to know better? Lots of cases involving older mothers.

this could be considered a mercy killing

she must have been so physically and mentally drained in order to do something like this.

how do you know the mother did this ??

and i am sure it takes so much to raise a special needs child but there are many parents with special needs children who find joy each and every day.. it's easy to assume but we don't know anything yet so I would not jump into conclusion.

@fishy

it's pretty easy to add up the facts in this case, especially since a blood-stained knife was found next to the mother. sorry but it doesn't take sherlock holmes to figure out the crime.

and i am sure it takes so much to raise a special needs child but there are many parents with special needs children who find joy each and every day

first off, by your statement you are impling that some parents don't find joy in raising these types of kids, which is the whole point of my argument. secondly, i never stated that all parent's of special needs kids are at the end of their ropes. i stated that this woman in particular must have been at the end of her rope to do something so horrific.

The mother was 51??

Is 51, she isn't dead.

Another one? Nearly every other day I read about kids killing parents, parents killing kids, brothers and/or sisted killing each other.

Hey! I'm 51 and have a 5y/o. So what?

Poor old lady - 51 with a special needs 8 year old who would need attention until adulthood. It is well documented that older moms have a higher rate of depression than younger moms, I wonder if this is the case with this lady?

43 is far too late to be having your first kid (fourth or fifth is completely different - you are already an experienced Mom, with older kids to help.)

At 43 you are still relatively genki, childbirth and childrearing take a toll on your body - 51 genki is not so much. Your hitting menopause with a kid who is a handful. And as other posters commented, there are many cases where the child is disabled or has special needs because of the mother choosing to have a child too late - thats a heavy weight on the moms conscience.

And tessa YES. I often hear in defense of old mothers "its better to have an older mother than a teenage one" but I would have to disagree. I wish I had my kids earlier and I was not in my 40s when I started.

Younger mothers are much more flexible and energetic and can adjust to the needs of a child much more easily than an older lady. Especially a disabled one.

For the old moms, Its often a baby in hindsight - hit 40, have a career, house, husband, car, countless designer bags, but forgot about a baby. I find it hard to believe they are having a baby because they want to be a mother - Its just another lifestyle accessory - and the concequences when it goes wrong can be dire, as in this womans case.

When I saw that the mother was 51, and the child was special needs, that sort of makes sense.

Actually, no, it doesn't. And neither does your further remark that the risk for "Down's syndrome" is great because the mother had a child at 42! What a load of twaddle!

For the old moms, Its often a baby in hindsight - hit 40, have a career, house, husband, car, countless designer bags, but forgot about a baby. I find it hard to believe they are having a baby because they want to be a mother - Its just another lifestyle accessory - and the concequences when it goes wrong can be dire, as in this womans case.

Just another lifestyle accessory? Please get off your soapbox until you know what you're talking about! What an insult to mothers!!

I hope this case is solved soon and the little girl's soul finds peace.

bookowls do some research please.

"The most common risk factor for Down syndrome is maternal age. As a woman gets older, her risk to have a pregnancy with a chromosome abnormality increases."http://downsyndrome.about.com/od/diagnosingdownsyndrome/a/Matagechart.htm

At age 20 the risk of downs syndrome is 1 in 1,667 At age 30 the risk of downs syndrome is 1 in 952 At age 43 the risk of downs syndrome is 1 in 50 (this woman was 43 when she had her baby.)

Downs syndrome is DIRECTLY linked to the mothers age.

How terribly aad!! Poor little girl!! RIP

people... nobody is putting this woman down for being 51 and a mother..but a 51 year old with a child who is 8 years old? meaning she got pregnant in her 40's after the age of 35 mental disabilities have a higher chance of happening to the baby. So people are understanding as to why her child was disabled.

On top of that there is the stress she may have experienced caring for a disabled kid at the age of 51 but whether she commit this crime or not is still unsaid but as many people have stated above the signs are pointing toward her committing this awful crime.

It is sad that this happened to the family. I know someone who had her first child at 43 but the child is so active and normal (the child is already 12).

Its somewhat amusing the way that family and child-rearing norms have evolved over the centuries, but some people want so badly to deny that any of that evolution made any sense.

Money, stability and youth are all important factors, especially the youth of the mother. That is why young women traditionally married somewhat older men and started families right away.

If you are a woman who wants a career, that is fine. But you really need to think if you also want children. Putting off motherhood is not really all that great of an idea.

And I may as well mention the fact that the major problems with teen motherhood are things like money and stability . Teen mothers who have those tend to do just fine, especially if they wanted the baby in the first place. But if a teen has no money, no support, no help and lives in a dump, yeah, there are going to be problems. Even the oft stated medical problems are simply a result of not getting prenatal care due to no money. Again, teen mothers who get prenatal care tend to do just fine.

Anyway, I am middle aged with a toddler. I feel sorry because I know I could have been more active with him when I was younger. If he had developmental problems, I don't think I could handle it. Might have had a better chance 10 years ago.

I suspect foul play.