HOKKAIDO (TR) – Prosecutors here have demanded a 27-year prison sentence for a 23-year-old woman accused of torturing a 17-year-old high school girl, stripping her naked, and forcing her off a bridge to her death two years ago, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (June 8).
During the trial at the Asahikawa District Court on June 8, prosecutors argued that Riko Uchida, who is unemployed, “trampled on the dignity of the high school girl, driving her to the absolute limit physically and mentally.”
According to the indictment, between the late hours of April 18 and the early morning of April 19, Uchida conspired with a 21-year-old female accomplice to confine the teen, a resident of Rumoi City, inside a car.
After violently assaulting the victim, the attackers allegedly stripped her naked, forced her to sit on the railing of a bridge in Asahikawa, and caused her to plunge into the river below, where she drowned.
The 21-year-old accomplice has already been sentenced to 23 years in prison for her role in the killing.
Denies murder
While Uchida has admitted to the confinement charges during the trial, she has consistently denied committing murder.
In their closing arguments, prosecutors asserted that the relentless physical assault, prolonged confinement, and vicious verbal threats such as “Die!” directly caused the girl’s death. They maintained that Uchida executed the murder and bears the heaviest responsibility among the perpetrators.
Defense lawyers, meanwhile, sought leniency. They reiterated their denial of homicidal intent, arguing that the incident was not premeditated and that Uchida should not shoulder the entirety of the blame.
“I couldn’t save her”
Prior to the closing arguments, the victim’s grieving father delivered a heartbreaking statement to the court.
“My daughter was an irreplaceable treasure. I am filled with regret and shame that I couldn’t save her,” he said, his voice trembling. “Our family’s sorrow remains exactly as it was. Please, please hand down the verdict my daughter wishes for.”
In her final statement, Uchida told the court, “Through this trial, I have felt the gravity of the outcome to my core. I will spend my days reflecting, apologizing and atoning.”
Presiding judge Yuka Tanaka is scheduled to hand down the verdict on June 22.
