crime

Man arrested for living in elderly woman’s home unnoticed for half a year

19 Comments
By SoraNews24

Last week in the bustling city of Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture, a man paid a visit to his 90-year-old mother’s house and cooked her a meal. However, during his time there, his ears picked up a strange sound coming from the second floor that his mother’s had been unable to detect.

Walking up the steps and opening a door, he found a 20-year-old man, whom he had never seen before, sleeping on a futon. Holding back his shock, he quietly went back downstairs and called the emergency number 110.

Police quickly arrived at the home and woke up the young man before arresting him and taking him back to the station. The suspect has been uncooperative during interrogation, not even revealing his name to the authorities.

However, according to police, he is believed to have first entered the woman’s home on Dec 12 at about 7:20 in the morning. This meant he probably lived there for about half a year to the day.

He even left his shoes at the front entrance upon entering. The mother told police that she almost never went up to the second floor and doesn’t know the suspect at all.

Readers of the news were understandably creeped way out by the incident.

“Every night she went to sleep with someone else and she didn’t even know it. Gyagh!”

“I’m pretty worried about the woman if she didn’t notice this guy.”

“Maybe he thinks if he never speaks, they’ll keep him in prison forever.”

“At least they caught him before something bad happened. In a situation like that it seems almost certain something bad would have happened.”

“He probably went down and stole her food while she slept, just like a cockroach.”

“That’s both ridiculous and bone-chilling at the same time.”

“Why would that guy even go to the trouble?”

The man’s motives are somewhat mysterious. Japan is known to not have a stellar track-record with homelessness compared to other developed countries, but the private sectors has surprisingly pitched in, in the form of internet cafes which often act as de facto homeless shelters, especially for young people.

In order to successfully squat in a home while someone else lived there too, he must have spent quite some time searching, planning, and casing places to know that the woman never went up to the second floor.

Without knowing what his intentions are, the charges remain at trespassing for the time being.

Source: Sankei News West, Hachima Kiko

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Osaka man arrested after sharing futon with dead girlfriend’s body for five nights

-- Osaka authorities finally arrest “Spider Man”

-- Man kidnaps, imprisons 11-year-old to raise her to be his “ideal girl”

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

19 Comments
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Maybe he even washed her back in the ofuro.

I wonder how he came and went.

It was also very nice of the police to wake him up before arresting him.

The son should visit his 90 year old mother more than just once every six months.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

How could she not notice for half a year especially if he's leaving his shoes at the front door I'm just glad he didn't harm her

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Sneak: 100

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Agree with reckless. this story is just bizzare.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

It's not uncommon for elderly Japanese living alone to never go upstairs. Those narrow, steep staircases are pretty difficult to negotiate for many at that age. They'll just set up the tatami room as their bedroom, and live completely downstairs.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

It's not uncommon for elderly Japanese living alone to never go upstairs.

My mother-in-law pretty much fits that bill. She almost never goes upstairs.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This story has the makings of a B-grade odd couple comedy. He didn't actually physically harm her. And she's got something wrong her too if she didn't care about it or notice

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Sounds like a real-life Binbōgami

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Maybe she was glad to have the companionship and didn't want to say anything to her family

0 ( +2 / -2 )

• Not noticing someone is living in a part of the house you never go to? Not impossible.

• Not hearing them walk around upstairs? Also not impossible if you’re 90 and partially or mostly deaf.

• Not noticing shoes in the genkan? Well when you struggle to get from your futon to the bathroom to the kitchen and to the living room with the TV, and almost never go out? Again, not impossible.

And by ‘living’ SoraRocket could mean the man was sleeping there and going out during the day.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

clever

0 ( +1 / -1 )

With so many houses empty, why choose an occupied one?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

With so many houses empty, why choose an occupied one?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Because this way he had "free food" available.

comment bugged *
0 ( +0 / -0 )

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