AOMORI (TR) – Aomori Prefectural Police on Friday arrested two doctors at a hospital in Hachinohe City for allegedly trying to over up the murder of a patient by his roommate two years ago.
The two suspects are Takashi Ishiyama, the 61-year-old director of the operating company of the Michinoku Memorial Hospital, and 60-year-old physician Tetsu Ishiyama. They are accused of aiding a criminal to avoid capture.
According to police, the two doctors are accused of falsely listing “pneumonia” as the cause of death of Seietsu Takahashi, 73, on the death certificate while knowing that he had been murdered, reports Nippon News Network (Feb. 14).
Police did not reveal whether the suspects admit to the allegations.
Stabbed in the face with a toothbrush
On March 12, 2023, Tetsu Ishiyama was the attending physician for Takahashi. That day, a nurse on patrol found Takahashi bleeding from his face while he was in his bed. He died the following day.
The results of an autopsy revealed the cause of death to be injuries to the head and face.
Police later arrested Takahashi’s roommate for fatally stabbing the victim in the face with a toothbrush. A court later sentenced him to 17 years in prison.
Police are continuing the investigation, believing that the hospital had intended to avoid the murder being discovered by preparing to hand over the body to a funeral company without the involvement of the family. An investigator tells Jiji Press (Feb. 15) that the hospital had decided on the funeral company on its own and refused when the patient’s family asked them to change the company.
Kyorinkai is the company operating the hospital. Based in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, it operates hospitals and elderly care facilities in Tokyo and the Tohoku and Tokai regions.
