Police in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, on Monday arrested an 80-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after he tried to strangle his 73-year-old wife to death.
According to police, they received a call from a male relative of Kenjiro Ogawa at around 12:10 a.m. Monday, in which he reported that Ogawa had strangled his wife, Fuji TV reported.
Police went to the apartment and found Ogawa's wife lying unconscious in a Japanese-style room on the second floor of their house. She was taken to hospital where she remains in a coma, police said.
Ogawa has admitted to attempting to kill his wife, who suffered from dementia, police said. He was quoted as saying he was worn out from looking after her.
© Japan Today
16 Comments
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sensei258
Another popular excuse, right up there with "I was stressed..." and "I was drunk..."
LFRAgain
Sensei258,
Not quite. Have you ever taken care of someone suffering from dementia or Alzheimers? Let's just hope you don't. To say it's no picnic vastly understates the difficulties and stress it can put on the minds and bodies of those charged with caring for someone suffering from these tragically debilitating diseases.
I suspect you would be one of the first to crack if faced with a similar situation, despite your propensity to immediately judge anyone who doesn't adhere to your particular code of how the world should work.
sensei258
I worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) for several years, so the answer is YES, a lot.
Guessing at the future, then attacking your own guess as if it was something that had already happened? That statement has no validity.
Don't know how you morphed my one comment about an excuse for murder into this, but it's also exactly what you just did
Moderator
No bickering please.
descendent
Amazing how internet board commentators are experts in any given field!
sensei258
Amazing how internet board commentators put words in somebody's mouth and then comment on them. Never claimed to be an expert.
I did not make my first post lightly. I understand the guy was stressed out, and rightly so, but it still is not an acceptable excuse for murder.
noypikantoku
Sensei258
Let's say what you claim is true that you are an "expert" and certified in that field. Do you think an 80 year old man who is not an expert in that field can handle someone with Dementia? when he himself would probably needed to get aid too. What will he gain from killing his wife in that age ?
MsDelicious
Treating dementia patients like children goes quite far and is far better than trying to treat them as adults. They love to play with dolls and learn how to cook etc.
Peter Qinghai
One more statistic, which will be ignored by JGov.
LFRAgain
Comparing the transient and temporary nature of providing care to patients of dementia and Alzheimer's as a CNA with the pain and struggle faced by a person providing 24-hour care for a loved one for years as their mind and then their body melts away to nothingness is akin to saying running a company and building structures is the same sort of sacrifice as a family losing their child to war. Not on the same page, not in the same neighborhood, not even close to the same planet.
Your wrote this, not me. With this comment, you belittled what had to have been an agonizing decision and experience for this man by relegating his explanation to something pedestrian and inconsequential, as if it were common. I can assure you, it wasn't. The man is eighty years old taking care of a wife in the throes of dementia. You have no idea what this man was or is going through, much less any right to judge him, which is precisely what you did.
Take ownership of what was obviously an attempt at snarkiness posing as insightfulness and let's move on. You'll feel better for it.
Illogical
Strangely enough and most sadly, I believe I do know this couple.... I can't imagine Mr Ogawa ever doing something like this, but then I know little to nothing of the stress of caring for another aged family member with dementia.
Yubaru
My wife and I took care of both her mother and father from their mid-60's till they passed away, roughly within 14 months of each other when they were 82 and 83 respectively. It damn near tore us and our family apart.
One in one hospital, the other in another, and both of us visiting and helping feed them daily, for nearly 5 years. Not just in the hospital either, taking them home on occasion and then moving them into one facility or another.
That was 7 years ago, yeah it got rough, and looking back at it, I truly wonder how we all made it through, but we did, and we didnt kill them nor each other, but there were times where we couldn't stand to look at one another.
The system here has to face the fact that cases like these are going to increase until they find a proper way to assist families with sick elderly members and couples like these. Sad to say but stories like this are only going to increase before they stop.
LFRAgain is right....I highly doubt it was an easy decision, I have a hard time imagining what I would do, been married over 30 years and the one person I love I would kill out of love? I hope I am never faced with this decision, nor my wife with me. Doesnt justify the act, but when there is a system that can not help, society is partially to blame for this happening.
sensei258
You're not listening. I didn't claim to be an expert (those are somebody else's words), but I do have years of experience with hands-on dementia care. I could tell you the names/locations of the facilities I've worked in.
You're the one who asked me if I had ever taken care of dementia patients, so I told you. Did I say it was the same situation as this man? Of course not, I could go home to my normal life after my shift.
So all my years of experience have provided me with no insight into this gentleman's situation. But you, whose only such experience includes reading an article online and berating others, see fit to judge
John-San
There must be a huge goal has a retirement centre ? There is a story like this everyday involving people over 70 year. Where are they put all these geriactic criminals ? They can not put people over 75 in a max Goal the person would not live a week. Having to climb all theses stairs, having to use the top bunk, long periods on the toilet in share cell, problems with other inmates stilling his incontinant under ware and his angina meds and selling them for smokes.
sensei258
So then, according to you, it's okay to murder your wife
The biting, the scratching, the fighting, the bodily fluid of all types, residents who walked out and were found dead, one who set herself on fire and died , residents who attack other residents...I could go on and on. So your "you have no idea" comment would be incorrect
and it's that concept of truth that's you seem to be struggling with
nath
Both of my grandmothers have/had Alzheimers. It's horrible and genetic, so hopefully there's a cure or at least really good treatment in the near future.