TOKYO (TR) – The Tokyo District Court on Friday handed a life prison term to 29-year-old man accused in the killing of an elderly woman whose dismembered corpse was found in Meguro Ward last year, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Sept. 29).
Presiding judge Toshikazu Ishii said that Yasunobu Ikeda has not reflected upon his killing of 88-year-old Tokiko Abe, whose corpse was found in a lake in Himonya Park in June of last year.
“It is reasonable for him to compensate for his sins for the rest of his life,” the judge said. The prosecution had sought the same prison term handed down.
According to the indictment, the defendant entered Abe’s residence, located about 500 meters away from the lake in the Nozawa area of Setagaya Ward, on June 20.
The defendant then strangled her to death before dismembering her corpse with a knife. The body was then dumped in the lake the following day.
Denied committing robbery
Ikeda had been accused of murder-robbery. At the opening of his trial, he admitted to killing Abe but denied robbing her of 350,000 yen via in cash through the misappropriation of her bank card as claimed by the prosecution.
With 200,000 yen in cash found left behind in the victim’s residence, the court did not recognize the robbery charge due to lack of evidence.
