TOKYO (TR) – Prosecutors have announced the non-prosecution of an 83-year-old man over the alleged fatal bashing of his wife with a hammer earlier this year, reports TBS News (Nov. 20).
At around 8:05 a.m. on September 14, the man, who was not named, telephoned police from his residence in the Oi are of Shinagawa Ward. “I killed my wife. I could not commit suicide,” he reportedly said.
Officers from the Oi Police Station arriving at the second floor of the residence found the 85-year-old wife of the man collapsed and bleeding from the head atop a futon. She was confirmed dead at the scene.
“At around 3:00 a.m., I bashed her in the head with a hammer,” the man told police. According to the Sankei Shimbun (Sept. 14), he added, “We got into a fight around dinner time, and I struck her in the head.”
On Wednesday, prosecutors with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office announced the non-prosecution of the man. No reason for the non-prosecution was given.
However, it is believed that the results of a psychiatric examination revealed that the man could not be criminally liable in the case due to his mental unsoundness.
After the incident, police observed stab wounds to the man’s abdomen and right thigh, wounds that were deemed to have been self-inflicted in a suicide attempt.
The couple’s son lives on the third floor of the residence. Though he was home at the time, he was unaware the incident took place.
