Osaka nursing home resident suspected of strangling husband due to caregiver fatigue

From The Mainichi Shimbun

September 14 2024

OSAKA – A 81-year-old woman from this western Japan city was arrested by Osaka Prefectural Police on Sept. 13 on suspicion of murdering her husband at an elderly nursing home where the couple were residing.

Takako Yamada had apparently been providing personal care for her 85-year-old husband Shori. She reportedly admitted to the charge by telling police, “There is no mistake (that I did it). I was tired of looking after him.”

The suspect is specifically accused of strangling her husband with a power cord between noon and 1 p.m. on Sept. 13 in a room at a paid residential care home in Osaka’s Nishinari Ward.

According to the prefectural police’s Nishinari Police Station, a caregiver at the facility who was called to the room by Takako found Shori lying limp in bed and called the 119 emergency number. Shori was pronounced dead at the hospital. When the caregiver arrived on the scene, Takako also had a power cord wrapped around her neck, and police believe she attempted a murder-suicide. Takako did not sustain any injuries.

The couple lived in the same room at the nursing facility, with Takako and caregivers looking after Shori who was practically bedridden due to a chronic illness. Takako reportedly told the prefectural police, “When I thought about my husband’s future, all I felt was anxiety. I wanted to kill him and put him out of his misery.” The prefectural police will perform an autopsy on Shori’s body to determine the exact cause of death.