crime

Woman arrested for abandoning dead baby in paper bag

15 Comments

Police in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, have arrested a 23-year-old woman on suspicion of abandoning the corpse of her newborn baby in a paper bag last month.

According to police, Atsuko Tanaka, who is a nurse, gave birth to a baby girl at her apartment between Nov 17 and 19, Sankei Shimbun reported. She placed the infant in a paper bag, and left it within the apartment compound where the body was discovered on Nov 19.

Police said an autopsy showed the baby weighed only 950 grams and her lungs did not show any signs that she had breathed. Police believe the baby died at birth.

Tanaka, who was arrested on Tuesday, lives with her ​​mother and sister. They told police they were not aware that she was pregnant.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

15 Comments
Login to comment

RIP Akachan!! :-(

0 ( +4 / -4 )

One wonders about the circumstances of this baby: number of weeks, actual state of the foetus at birth, etc.

The irony here is that the woman is a nurse, so it is not as though she would not be ignorant about things medical. One wonders why she chose this course of action. Undoubtedly it will come out in due course, although it may never make the news.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Tanaka, who was arrested on Tuesday, lives with her ​​mother and sister. They told police they were not aware that she was pregnant.

The baby was quite small, dangerously underweight I would guess but how do you not know that your daughter is pregnant? No baby bump? No change in eating habits, lack of a period, nausea? I would seriously question the validity of mom and sis's statement.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Just once I would like to not read about dead babies. just once.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

One of Japan standard phrases (( Parent were not aware that their daughter was pregnant ))

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I can understand why people ask how could the parents not know it being Japan but in america there is actually a TV show called I didn't know i was pregnant,go figure

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I just wonder who the father is and if he knows this. In any case, chances were the poor baby was unfortunately not to be celebrated. I feel very sorry. RIP.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I can understand why people ask how could the parents not know it being Japan but in america there is actually a TV show called I didn't know i was pregnant,go figure

Because some people only read this site and think the rest of the World is non-existent.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

RIP Akachan!! :-(

Godfather - A little advice. Little frown faces and exclamation points on what is supposed to be a somber message are best left to teenage girls.

My apologies if you are a teenage girl.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

The baby weighed less than two pounds. That's awfully premature, and a lot of women don't 'show' pregnancy at that stage. I have to assume (without turning myself into the first three letters of that word) that the nurse/mother knew she was pregnant. Whether is was an accidental natural, or forced, abortion is another thing. And the little thing's lungs didn't work when it entered this world. Tragic, by all accounts, but I don't think the mother should be charged with anything other than the wrongful disposal of an unfortunately premature baby. Spoken as the father of a premie who survived thanks to the ICU at our children's hospital. I don't like reading stories like this, but they're a part of life everywhere. Commiserate, don't condemn.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@TrevorPeace - "Commiserate, don't condemn"

Think of the dead baby and CONDEMN, don't commiserate!! :-(

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Tragedy as it is, really the woman's name doesn't need to published unless it's proven that she killed the child. We don't know her mental state.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why judge ?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why judge ?

Erm....perhaps because she left her newborn baby in a paper bag and went on with her life as if nothing had happened? Mental illness? Yes, possibly. But isn't that becoming a convenient excuse these days for general douchebaginess? And if she is mentally ill - would you want her nursing you?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Cant anyone think that possibly the baby was still born and she kept the baby for 16 days mourning the loss?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites