A 60-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murdering a 31-year-old Vietnamese woman in his apartment last year.
The Osaka District Court handed down its verdict in the lay judge trial on Friday, Kyodo News reported. Toshiya Yamaguchi was found guilty of strangling Quyen Thi Le Vo and stealing 26,000 yen from her.
The court heard that the victim worked part-time in a bento shop on the first floor of a two-story building in Yodogawa Ward, and that Yamaguchi lived on the second floor. On the morning of April 3, 2022, Yamaguchi asked Vo if she could come up to his apartment, saying he wanted to discuss a financial matter with her.
Prosecutors said Yamaguchi asked to borrow money from Vo and when she refused, he strangled her and took the money from her purse.
At the beginning of the trial on Jan 26, Yamaguchi told the court he needed money because he was behind in the rent, but said he did not intend to kill Vo. He said he panicked when she shouted at him for trying to get money from her. After strangling Vo, Yamaguchi placed her body in a futon storage bag.
Vo had been in Japan since 2016 and was studying Japanese in addition to working part-time. She was married to a Vietnamese man.
© Japan Today
11 Comments
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Ben Obeng
Cold-blooded murder.
Hakman
Right. He put his hands around her neck and squeezed tight until she lost consciousness -- but oh no, he didn't intend to kill her.
So, although it'll be in prison, he gets to die old. Something Ms. Vo didn't get to do, thanks to him.
Yubaru
Wow, life sentence, for killing a foreigner. I can honestly not recall this every happening before.
Kudos to the judge for handing it down and kudos to the jury for recommending it!
NOMINATION
Two I remember off hand. Tatsuya Ichihashi, who killed the English teacher Lindsay Hawker and was a fugitive for 2 years. Also the PTA leader that raped and killed the 9 year old Vietnamese student got life I believe a few years back.
Mr Kipling
The death penalty would be the perfect solution to Mr. Yamaguchi's financial problems.
Mark
Capital Punishment would have been appropriate in this case, at 60 he gets to live the last few years of his measurable a life he chose, but Mrs. Quyen at 31 she had some much to look for and had plans to live in Japan and have a life but he ended it with his own hands.
MilesTeg
Murdering someone for a measly ¥26,000. Panic he claims? Strangulation isn't immediate. Lousy excuse for a lousy excuse of a human being.
Fighto!
Sickening that this animal was not sentenced to death. He does not deserve the luxury of being kept alive. I pray that his remaining years are complete torture.
Rest in Peace to the poor innocent victim Quyen Thi Le Vo.
John
Why was the married woman so close to him that he tried to take money from her. It’s strange.
Wesley
It wasn't pre-meditated murder. More like a spur of the moment thing. Wrong nevertheless.
smithinjapan
Wonder how he's going to pay the rent when he gets out of prison at 60 or so, and whom he'll kill when he realizes he has financial difficulty again.