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Osaka police: Parents reported death of confined daughter after other child’s prodding

The body of Airi Kakimoto was found in her residence in Neyagawa City on Saturday
The body of Airi Kakimoto was found in her residence in Neyagawa City on December 23 (TV Asahi)

OSAKA (TR) – Investigative sources with the Osaka Prefectural Police have revealed that the parents of a 33-year-old woman who was found dead last week after years of confinement in a small unheated room only revealed her death after they were pushed by another one of their children, reports TV Asahi (Dec. 29).

On December 23, police found the nude body of Airi Kakimoto under a blanket in the residence in Neyagawa City. Police subsequently arrested Yasutaka Kakimoto, 55, and his wife, 53-year-old Yukari Kakimoto, on suspicion of abandoning a corpse. Airi is believed to have died around December 18.

The results of an autopsy revealed that Airi froze to death. She was also malnourished, weighing only 19 kilograms while standing 145 centimeters tall.

In the latest development, police said that the couple only reported their daughter’s death after they were urged to do so by another of their daughters. “After speaking with our second daughter, we decided to give ourselves up,” one of the suspects said to police.

According to a previous report, the suspects told police upon their arrest that they confined their daughter to the small room, measuring 3.3 square meters, from the age of 16 or 17 after she began suffering from a mental disorder that caused her to become violent. They also said they fed her once per day.

According to the police, the parents remodeled their residence such that the small room was added as a extension. The room was outfitted with a double door that cannot be opened from the inside.

The room was not heated, and it was outfitted with a makeshift toilet and a tube for drinking water from a tank positioned outside, police said.

Police believe the couple knew their daughter would die considering her weakened state as a result of lack of food and heating. They are now investigating whether to add charges of murder resulting from confinement to the suspects.