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Gallows urged for woman in Akita child-slayings
AKITA (Kyodo) Prosecutors demanded the death penalty Friday for a 34-year-old woman on trial for the murders of her 9-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old neighbor boy in Akita Prefecture in 2006.
KYODO PHOTO
| Suzuka Hatakeyama |
The trial was scheduled to end Friday with final defense arguments, and the court is scheduled to hand down its ruling on March 19
In earlier closing arguments from the state, a prosecutor said, "The defendant had not been able to feel affection (for her daughter) since before (the killing) and killed her with definite intent."
Hatakeyama is accused of murdering her daughter by dropping her into a river from a bridge in the town of Fujisato, Akita Prefecture, in April 2006, and of strangling Yoneyama at her house the following month.
The prosecutor said Hatakeyama killed Yoneyama to "divert the public's suspicions," contradicting her counsel's argument that she was not criminally responsible due to being in a state of diminished capacity.
In earlier trial sessions, the prosecutors had argued that Hatakeyama felt an aversion toward her daughter. They said that when the girl asked to see some fish, these feelings of dislike intensified and she pushed her off the bridge.
Hatakeyama initially confessed to investigators that she intended to kill her daughter, according to police. Prosecutors claimed it was possible to prove Hatakeyama's intent to kill based on this confession, despite the lack of material or witness evidence.
They also said Hatakeyama searched for her daughter afterward to cover up her involvement in the killing.
Hatakeyama's counsel denied she intended to kill her daughter, maintaining she just brushed her off when her daughter, who was sitting on the railing of the bridge, tried to hold on to Hatakeyama and that she was too upset to try to rescue her.
The Japan Times: Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008
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Death sought for Hatakeyama / Prosecutors call for ultimate penalty over murders of daughter, boy
The Yomiuri Shimbun
AKITA--Prosecutors on Friday demanded that Akita District Court hand down the death sentence to Suzuka Hatakeyama, who was indicted on charges of murdering her daughter and a boy and abandoning their bodies.
A prosecutor said Hatakeyama's slaying of the two children demonstrated she is a "cold-blooded and cruel murderer."
"She repeatedly tried to cover up the murders in a cowardly fashion and has not yet shown any willingness to reflect on her crimes," he said.
The hearings came to an end after defense counsels delivered their closing arguments the same afternoon. The court will hand down a ruling on March 19.
During the closing arguments, a prosecution official said Hatakeyama, 34, had felt burdened raising her daughter, Ayaka, then 9, which may have strengthened her resolve to kill her.
The most significant point of contention in the trial is whether Hatakeyama intended to kill her daughter.
"When Ayaka asked her mother to let her view fish from a bridge, Hatakeyama's irritation and loathing reached the limits of her patience," he said.
The official stressed that Hatakeyama definitely harbored murderous intent. After ordering Ayaka to climb onto the rail of the bridge, she pushed her into the river and fled without trying to rescue her.
In previous hearing sessions, lawyers for Hatakeyama had denied she intended to kill her daughter, saying that when Ayaka, who was sitting on the rail, turned around to hold her mother, Hatakeyama--who reportedly seldom held her daughter--knocked Ayaka's hand aside with her left hand.
They did not deny that Hatakeyama killed Goken Yoneyama, then 7, saying she was mentally depressed at the time.
The 48-seat gallery in Akita District Court's No. 1 court was packed. Hatakeyama, her hair bunched to the left, appeared at 10:35 a.m., wearing a black jacket and trousers. She bowed slightly upon entering the court, but remain wooden-faced.
When a prosecutor demanded the death sentence after delivering an about two-hour closing argument, Hatakeyama stared at him without emotion, as though she was ready to accept the sentence.
Yoneyama's parents were in the gallery.
Yoneyama's mother, Machiko, 40, held a photo of her late son as she and her husband, Katsuhiro, 41, listened to the arguments while hanging their heads.
When the prosecutor said the bereaved family were rigorously seeking a death sentence, Machiko sobbed into a handkerchief and repeatedly wiped away tears.
Hatakeyama's mother, who appeared during the closing arguments, held a handkerchief and heaved a sigh when the death sentence was demanded.
During previous hearing sessions, Hatakeyama said she wanted the death sentence. However, when asked by a prosecutor during the previous session what she would do if the court determined Ayaka's death was not an accident, she said she might file an appeal, indicating her inner turmoil.
On Friday, the prosecutor said Hatakeyama harbored hatred for Ayaka because she felt her daughter stopped her having a free life.
"Her dislike of news reporters and her neighbors strengthened, and she killed Yoneyama to divert attention from the murder of her daughter," he said.
Overcome with emotion, the prosecutor's voice trembled when he quoted Machiko as saying she would have liked to have died in place of her son, if possible.
(Jan. 26, 2008)
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Prosecution seeks death for Akita woman accused of murdering daughter, neighbor boy
Saturday, January 26, 2008 at 03:19 EST
AKITA — Prosecutors on Friday demanded the death penalty for a 34-year-old woman for murdering her 9-year-old daughter as well as a 7-year-old boy living in her neighborhood in a town in Akita Prefecture in 2006.
The focal point in the trial of Suzuka Hatakeyama at the Akita District Court has been whether she had the intention of killing her daughter Ayaka, since Hatakeyama has already admitted to the murder of the boy, Goken Yoneyama.Hatakeyama is accused of murdering Ayaka by dropping her into a river from a bridge in the town of Fujisato, Akita Prefecture, in April 2006, and of strangling Goken at her house the following May.
In earlier hearings, the prosecutors had argued that Hatakeyama felt an aversion toward her daughter. They said that when the girl asked to see some fish, these feelings of dislike intensified and she pushed her off the bridge. In the case of Goken, the defense admitted that Hatakeyama murdered the boy but claimed that she was in a state of diminished responsibility.