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Caregiver arrested over sexual assault, death of 80-year-old woman in nursing home

17 Comments

Police in Minami-Alps, Yamanashi Prefecture, have arrested a 42-year-old man on suspicion of sexually assaulting an 80-year-old woman at the nursing home where he works as a caregiver.

The woman, Keiko Higuchi, died of injuries believed to have been inflicted on her during the assault which occurred in the bathroom of her room at the Wataboshi nursing home between 10 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on Aug 5, Kyodo News reported. Higuchi shared a room with her husband, who is in his 70s. He was asleep when the incident occurred, police said.

According to police, the suspect, Kazuki Tanzaki, is accused of taking Higuchi, who suffered from dementia and had difficulty walking, into the bathroom where he choked her and then sexually assaulted her. Higuchi was unresponsive the next morning and Tanzaki asked the nursing home director to call 119. Higuchi was taken to hospital where she was declared dead. An autopsy revealed asphyxiation as the cause of death. She also suffered a broken bone in her throat.

Tanzaki was the only caregiver on duty that night, police said. Police said he has admitted to assaulting the woman, but has denied intent to kill. He was quoted by police as saying that recently he had become stressed out over his caregiving duties and that it is was troublesome getting the Higuchis to do anything without an argument.

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17 Comments
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Ok that just ruined my breakfast. And perhaps I have become numb to these kind of things in Japan but the murder aspect was not even what made me loose my appetite.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Sheer evil. I hope he gets the punishment that fits him. If life in prison it's OK, and if it's death, then I wouldn't certainly shed a tear for him rotting on death row until hanging in spite of my ambiguous position on capital punishment.

That lady had to be protected by him. He's a piece of garbage.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Sick minded. Watching too much Dirty JAV corrupted his mind. Seriously a 80 year old that is just not right event not right at any given age. Toss the sick man into the gulag of torture.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Completely unnecessary to publish the name of the victim.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

Maybe Japanese culture & beliefs have some type of special hell for this unique kind of deviant?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Oh to be in a room with no windows or doors with this man child! Pure pathetic evil!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

It is totally unacceptable what has happened! This is an exceptionally difficult job and if one does not have the mental ability to deal with it, one must not do this job!!!

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Another deranged deviant working with the elderly, disabled and children in Japan. Is there o psychological screening and routine reviews/evaluations of staff?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Perhaps we shouldn’t worry? *Someone* will be along *to tell readers* to “cut the drama”; to clarify “*it happens in other countries”; and, reassure us this *was “a rare occurrence for Japan”.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Don’t think so:

July 27, 2021 “19 Victims of mass murder at care home remembered on 5th anniversary

https://japantoday.com/category/crime/Victims-of-mass-murder-at-care-home-remembered-on-5th-anniversary?comment-order=popular

Oct. 17, 2019 “Former care worker gets 19 years for murder of 89-year-old nursing home resident

https://japantoday.com/category/crime/former-care-worker-gets-19-years-for-murder-of-89-year-old-nursing-home-resident

July 26, 2017 “One year after mass murder, culprit retains hatred of disabled - 19 dead, 24 injured.”

https://japantoday.com/category/crime/update1-1-yr-after-mass-murder-near-tokyo-culprit-retains-hatred-of-disabled

Sep. 21, 2015 “Nursing home employee arrested for attempted murder of 97-year-old resident

https://japantoday.com/category/crime/nursing-home-employee-arrested-for-attempted-murder-of-97-year-old-resident

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Hopefully Tanzaki will receive relief from his stress in the form of a snug hemp necktie.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

No words…..please castrate this sicko, and then give him 40 years of mandatory hard physical labor.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

This guy must have a supervisor or manager, why could he not say to either one of them, sorry but I cant deal with Mr and Mrs X and give a reason and ask to re located/allocated another senior person to look after? or ask for help in dealing with them, we all know senior people can be blinking stubborn sometimes. If you cant hack the job, just leave.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

What a POS, and his lame excuse is also bogus. He should swing. RIP to the victim.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

My mother was in a nursing home until her death at age 80 so naturally I am horrified to hear of this. If you have no sense of honor or decency, you have nothing.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Reading these stories make me more and more hesitant every day of putting anyone I know in a nursing home..

2 ( +3 / -1 )

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