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Kumamoto cops: Women dies after being strangled by husband with towel

An elderly man used a towel to attempt to strangle his wife, who later died (TV Asahi)
An elderly man used a towel to attempt to strangle his wife, who later died, at their residence in Kumamoto City (TV Asahi)

KUMAMOTO (TR) – Kumamoto Prefectural Police have arrested a 73-year-old man for using a towel to strangle his wife, who later died at a hospital, reports TV Asahi (Apr. 8).

At 11 a.m. on Saturday, Hiromi Iwashita, 73, telephoned emergency services to report that he had strangled his wife at the residence they shared in Kumamoto City’s Higashi Ward.

The suspect’s 74-year-old wife, Yae Iwashita, was found collapsed on the floor and unconscious by a fire crew arriving at the scene. She died about 1.5 hours later after she was transported to a hospital.

Hiromi, who has been charged with attempted murder, told police he strangled his wife with a towel because he “was exhausted from nursing care so I tried to kill her.”

Police are investigating whether to change the charges against the suspect to murder.