CHIBA (TR) – Prosecutors have revealed that the results of a psychiatric examination have resulted in the non-prosecution of a former city councilman over the alleged stabbing of four family members — one fatally — at a restaurant in Chiba City earlier this year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Sept. 14).
At around 7:00 p.m. on May 13, Motomu Oda, a 46-year-old former councilman for Chiba City, withdrew a knife from a bag and allegedly stabbed a man (44), his wife (42) and their two children (1 and 6) at a table at the izakaya restaurant in Inage Ward.
The 6-year-old girl, an elementary school student named Ayumi Takagi, received wound to the back. She was later confirmed dead at a hospital due to shock from loss of blood. One stab wound reached a lung, police said at the time.
Meanwhile, the man and his wife suffered wounds in multiple locations of the upper body and other areas. Their injuries were expected to require between two weeks and one month to heal. The 1-year-old girl received light injuries to her forehead and face, police said.
On September 14, prosecutors indicated that the results of a psychiatric examination caused them to not prosecute Oda for murder and attempted murder.
The gathering at the restaurant was to celebrate Oda’s birthday. In carrying out the crime, the suspect let out a scream while stabbing the man, seated next to him, in the buttocks. He then stabbed Ayumi, seated in front of him. Next, he targeted the man’s wife, slashing her repeatedly in the upper body.
After a staff member apprehended Oda, police arrested him. At the time of his arrest, the suspect declined to comment on the allegations.
In 2009, Oda was first elected to the city council. Four years later, his father was involved in a violent incident. A colleague told the Mainichi Shimbun (May 15) that Oda appeared to have “lost his mind and body” following the incident involving in his father.
