crime

83-year-old man arrested for stabbing wife

10 Comments

Police in Minami-Ashigara, Kanagawa Prefecture, said Monday they have arrested an 83-year-old man on suspicion of attempting to murder his 81-year-old wife with a fruit knife.

According to police, the suspect, Kyuji Takahashi, stabbed his wife Setsuko in the chest at their apartment at around 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Fuji TV reported. Prior to the incident, Takahashi called 110 and said “I am going to kill my wife.”

Police officers went to the residence and found Setsuko bleeding from a stab wound to her chest. She was taken to hospital and was listed in a stable condition, Fuji TV reported.

Takahashi was quoted as saying, “My wife has dementia and I am worn out from looking after her."

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10 Comments
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Just sad, really sad. I think the law should be updated to cut people some slack when it comes to these sorts of cases.

People will say that he is incredibly selfish, but think of the lifetime of memories he must have had with his wife and how she had probably become a complete stranger due to dementia. It's wrong to murder a human being but I can understand why someone at that age might want to kill their spouse and just finish life with only the happy memories.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Very sad. You can imagine how desperate he was. And his poor wife, had she known. Tragic.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I think the law should be updated to cut people some slack when it comes to these sorts of cases.

No need, an 83 year old will never be put in jail, specially if the judge has even a spot of sympathy for the situation.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Horrible stuff, and the most horrible thing about it is that the man felt there was nothing else he could do to get some help in taking care of his wife. I hope he is properly punished for what he does, but more than that I hope she is referred to some proper care services and both of them can be looked after for a while. I have no doubt he is not proud of what he did, and it seems pretty obvious by the fact that he called police that he was desperate, and while this is an all around sad situation, I hope at least some bit of good can come from it.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Japanese medical research institutions must start research on war footing for finding a durable curative solution for dementia ailment from which a large numbers of people are suffering in Japan and the world.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

M3M3M3 Wtf kind of sick reasoning is that? Nothing romantic about that at all. Be sure to tell your wife this so she knows now how you feel.

Of course it's not romantic, it's sad but also understandable. Look at it from a different perspective, imagine you were suffering from severe dementia or alzheimer's and your wife(or husband) who was caring for you 24/7 reached the limit of what they could tolerate and they smothered you with a pillow. Would you want your wife to be prosecuted and end up in prison as a murderer and have your relatives sue her? or would you just want everyone to set her free to live the rest of her life in peace? I know what I would prefer.

I think the law should be amended to allow everyone to draw up a list of people who should not be imprisoned in the event that any of them end up murdering you. We could place some reasonable limits on this, but it would operate much like a will. We already allow people to make private agreements where they consent to physical violence being inflicted on them (sports, boxing, surgery), why not extend this principle a bit further? Cases like this will be a big problem as society ages and people with all sorts of illnesses live longer and longer.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It seems pretty obvious to me, from the call to the police before he did it, and the "attack" with a fruit knife (I'm sure he must have had something bigger) that this was a cry for help and not an attempted murder.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

“My wife has dementia and I am worn out from looking after her.”

Again? Sheesh . . . Japanese boast of their longevity, but we often ready how dementia is ultimately their demise.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

He tried to kill her with a fruit knife?

Guess he's a little fruity

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

" I can understand why someone at that age might want to kill their spouse and just finish life with only the happy memories." - M3M3M3 Wtf kind of sick reasoning is that? Nothing romantic about that at all. Be sure to tell your wife this so she knows now how you feel.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

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