Mothers of Care Home Massacre victims are heard in court

Written with extracts translated from NHK

February 14th 2020

YOKOHAMA– The trial of a man accused of killing 19 people and injuring 24 others at a care home in Sagamihara City on July 26th 2016, resumed on February 12. The family and others came to court to discuss their feelings about the incident.

Satoshi Uematsu, aged 30, has pleaded not guilty to killing 19 residents and injuring dozens more at the Tsukui Lily Garden facility for people with disabilities in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture.

A lawyer read the thoughts of a 43-year-old mother called “Ko S’ in court said, “The defendant said “Disabled people create misfortune,” but they made happiness, not misfortune. There was struggle, but struggle and misfortune are different. I want to make it a better place to live, so that these incidents never happen again. ”

In addition, the mother of a 26-year-old woman called ‘Ko C’ said in front of a testimony shielded from the surroundings, “Every morning, when I stare at the laughing daughter’s remains, I want to talk forever, My daughter expressed myself with various expressions and had an important heart. It was an essential part of my life. Even if I have a disability, my life is important.