TOKYO (TR) – A 24-year-old woman in custody after she allegedly caused the death of her 3-year-old daughter by leaving her alone at their residence for more than one week barricaded her inside with furniture, police have revealed, reports Fuji News Network (July 9).
According to police, Saki Kakehashi, a 24-year-old bar employee, allegedly left her daughter Noa alone at the residence in Ota Ward between June 5 and 13 while she was in Kagoshima Prefecture with her boyfriend.
At around 3:55 p.m. on June 13, Kakehashi telephoned emergency services to report that Noa was not breathing. Personnel arriving at the residence transported the girl to a hospital where she was confirmed dead.
In the latest development, police said on Thursday that Kakehashi barricaded Noa inside a room with a sofa blocking the door so that she could not get out. “I thought it would be dangerous if she got into the kitchen,” the suspect told police.
Dehydration and hunger
Earlier this week, police said that the results of an autopsy revealed that Noa died due to dehydration and hunger.
Upon her arrest on suspicion of negligence as a guardian resulting in death on Tuesday, Kakehashi admitted to the allegations. “I didn’t think [she would] die. I thought [she would be] fine,” the suspect was quoted. She was sent to prosecutors on Thursday.
Police also previously said that the suspect, a single mother, also visited her boyfriend in Kagoshima for three days in May, during which time she also abandoned Noa.
Also on Thursday, police said that Kakehashi waited a full hour after finding Noa to not be breathing before alerting emergency services.
After she made the call, the suspect apparently used unspecified means to try to take her life. She was then hospitalized. Police arrested her upon her release.
