TOKYO (TR) – A 31-year-old man accused of in the killing of a teenage girl two years ago told a court on Tuesday that he considered multiple murders, reports Sankei Shimbun (May 16).
At the opening of his trial Tokyo District Court, Masahiro Aoki, a resident of Edogawa Ward, pleaded guilty to charges that he killed and attempted to rape Kana Iwase, 17, in November 2015.
“With a part-time job, I couldn’t cover my living expenses, and I had a debt of more than 1 million yen through loans,” the defendant told the court. “I also suffered from several maladies, including hypertension caused by a heart attack. I was desperate and thought about suicide or serial killings so that I would face the death penalty.”
Prior to the crime, Aoki and Iwase were co-workers at a convenience store in Katsushika Ward. On the afternoon of November 12, the defendant met up with the victim, then a third-year high school student, at JR Koiwa Station under the pretense that he had cosmetics samples to give her. He then took her back to his apartment where he allegedly strangled her to death with his hands.
Two days later, Aoki notified police by telephone that he had killed a person. Officers arriving at his residence found Iwase’s unclothed body in his bathtub.
