crime

Woman arrested for drowning ailing 88-year-old mother in river

16 Comments

Police in Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, have arrested a 62-year-old woman on suspicion of killing her 88-year-old mother in a river in an apparent murder-suicide attempt.

According to police, Rika Maruyama, a part-time worker, is accused of drowning her mother, Chie Tamura, in a river near their home on Thursday morning, Fuji TV reported. Police said Maruyama has admitted to the charge and quoted her as saying she tried to drown herself as well.

Police said Maruyama’s husband noticed that his wife and her mother, who suffered from dementia and was an invalid, were missing when he got up at around 7:15 a.m. on Thursday. He went searching for them and saw them both floating in the river about 150 meters from their home.

Both women were taken to hospital. Tamura was pronounced dead on arrival, while Maruyama was treated for hypothermia. Police arrested her on Friday after she was released from hospital.

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16 Comments
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Maybe it's time for Death with Dignity in all countries.

If I am severally and terminally ill and unable to do anything, I could choose that path.

17 ( +18 / -1 )

A scenario that repeats itself way too often in Japan. Aged care for the ailing is sadly lacking in Japan. An ailing parent becomes the responsibility of the family. This woman should have been in a nursing home receiving professional care.

8 ( +12 / -4 )

Terrible tragedy all around! Obviously the daughter was at her wits end looking after her mum with dementia and snapped. This isn’t like looking after an elderly person with all their faculties! They don’t know you or themselves can’t dress, toilet or wash themselves! Japan needs more services for people in this situation to be looked after better and yes euthanasia should be an option on the table as well!

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Again, the lack of resources and support for these people and their families have resulted in such dire measures. These cases have been increasing in frequency in Japan and will probably continue to do so given the rapidly aging population. I wonder what it'll take for the government to sit up, take notice, and do something about it.

3 ( +15 / -12 )

The general consensus around here:

There's been a lot of these stories lately

Japan has, statistically, about 1-2 murders per day, nationwide.

There seems to be one of these family-murder stories every day, or every other day here on JT; most often with elderly victims.

It might be safe to say that the majority of murders in Japan are carried out on the elderly by their own family members.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

There seems to be a lot of this kind of thing in Japan recently.

1 ( +13 / -12 )

Purple-san seems to be saying that when the government fails to liquidate old people suffering from dementia, their poor relatives are forced to take “dire measures” of their own. Or is he saying that it’s young taxpayers who should pay to support old people like me, putting us away in comfy public facilities—well, at least until some “compassionate” doctor or nurse comes in to give us a final jab?

@Khuniri at this point you are just trolling and the moderators here should delete your comments and incessant badgering about the immoralities of deciding your own fate; and twisting the words of my and other people's posts. I feel sorry for any of your kin that has a debilitating disease or illness because it's clear you'd rather be selfish and let them suffer instead of letting go peacefully and pain free. We get it, you're afraid of death and dying - who isn't? But as is MY right and MY autonomy, I and those who wish it should be able to choose when and how to end their lives if their current quality of living is badly affected by a medical ailment.

Your parents brought you into this world so its your responsibility to see them out, and not by murdering them .

One could argue that you did not consent to be brought into this world so you don't owe your parents anything. They made the conscious - or accidenal - decision to make a human being and are therefore responsible for them.

1 ( +8 / -7 )

Your parents brought you into this world so its your responsibility to see them out, and not by murdering them .

Murder is murder, that goes without saying. But last time I checked, kids don’t get a say in being brought into the world, so parents really don’t get a say in whether or not said kids see them out of the world.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Alex

Your parents brought you into this world so its your responsibility to see them out, and not by murdering them .

Of course murdering your parents is out of the question. However it would be rather cold hearted if parents thought because they bought you into this world that they would expect to have a slave to look after them before and until they die. I personally don't recall being consulted about it prior to my birth nor did I agree to such terms.

In other words prepare for your eventual death and probable nursing home yourself don't Burdon your children with it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

‘De ja vu all over again’, as Yogi used to say.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

purple_dressed_bacon: "I wonder what it'll take for the government to sit up, take notice, and do something about it."

Sadly, the only way such people realize such things is when they themselves suffer in such positions. As it is, most of the people in charge are quite wealthy and will be well taken care of when it is their time (which has passed for most of the dinosaurs up there). So, the answer is, they will never sit up, take notice, and do something about it.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Geeze... thats aweful ! the latest popular thing is to kill your parents.

Domestic abuse in Japan is aweful

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Your parents brought you into this world so its your responsibility to see them out, and not by murdering them .

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

Purple-san seems to be saying that when the government fails to liquidate old people suffering from dementia, their poor relatives are forced to take “dire measures” of their own. Or is he saying that it’s young taxpayers who should pay to support old people like me, putting us away in comfy public facilities—well, at least until some “compassionate” doctor or nurse comes in to give us a final jab?

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

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