TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday arrested a 31-year-old woman after her newborn was found to have died at her residence in Adachi Ward, reports NHK (Jan. 2).
“I am unable to pay for a hospital, and there is nobody near me for whom I could seek help,” Kazumi Ikeda, a part-time employee, was quoted by police. “[The child] was premature.”
According to police, Ikeda gave birth to the girl in the bathroom of her residence in the Nishiarai area on December 28. She is then alleged to have abandoned the child inside the residence until she died on January 1.
Ikeda lives alone. After giving birth, the suspect left the child on the second floor of the residence. On the night of January 1, she alerted emergency services.
Upon the arrival of emergency personnel, the child was in a state of cardiac arrest. She was later confirmed dead at a hospital.
During questioning, she said that the father is her former boyfriend. She added that she had not visited a medical institution.
