Woman gets 15 yrs for killing husband, dumping dismembered body

Monday 28th April, 11:13 AM JST

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USNinJapan2 at 07:00 PM JST - 28th April

Have you heard the recordings of this woman's reaction to hearing that she had been named a suspect? Sounded guilty as hell to me. Plus her attitude and demeanor in court changed 180 degrees as soon as she learned of the experts' opinion that she may have been mentally incompetent. The judge rightfully took into account a lot more than the professional opinions of the psychiatrists when ruling.
frontandcentre at 07:04 PM JST - 28th April

This is a strange outcome. Surely she was either insane, legally speaking, when she killed him or she wasn't and should face the full force of the law for murder? By giving her 15 years, the judge has ignored the defence of insanity, and quite possibly prevented her from being properly treated for mental illness. If she was responsible and fully aware of her actions, why only 15 years? provocation?

What an odd state of affairs - murder someone and it could be the death penalty or a relatively short custodial sentence
frontandcentre at 07:08 PM JST - 28th April

niku - proportional retribution for being beaten up is not to smash someone over the head with a full wine bottle and then cut up their body... that sounds like the act of an insane person to me, and 2 court-appointed psychiatrists clearly concurred. I wonder why the judge chose to ignore their conclusions?
nutsagain at 07:55 PM JST - 28th April

As I understand things from the NHK news and the spin-doctors, the judges can take medical opinion as just that; opinion. They are under no obligation to let it sway a decision. A pity as it's pretty clear to me at least that this dame wasn't playing with a full deck at the time. It will be intersting to see just how this confuses they lay judges in a year or so...
Triple888 at 10:56 PM JST - 28th April

Japanese women are scary.
dr_jones at 11:49 PM JST - 28th April

"In Japan your family kills you!"
SuperLib at 12:04 AM JST - 29th April

Japan needs to set up some kind of committee to tighten laws to make sure this never happens again.
northlondon at 01:41 AM JST - 29th April

What is sad is that not many people here on JT (except for nutsagain) have discussed concern for this womans beatings by her husband. Instead most posters just wanted to make funny comments about how she is a crazed murderer who chopped her husband up.

What concerns me when reading other posts is the total lack of compassion for the life this woman has gone through. Imagine, a bad marriage, with a physically abusing brute of a husband dishing out beatings (let's not forget the actual evidence that he even broke her nose once - I have never heard of a woman having her nose broken by her husbands attack). And now, after she lost it completely and murdered the guy, she now ends up in jail for the next 15 years. The authorities (the police) had a chance to save this woman when she ended up in hospital from his beating and since they did nothing to help her then, they now throw 15 years at her.

Forget the chopping up of the body. There was nothing sinister about that. She had already killed him and was getting rid of the evidence. A little difficult to drag a full body out to where tomorborder takes his lovely little dogs for a walk every morning.

Too many critics on this site have made their personal assumptions about this woman as if they knew her personally and what she actually went through.
zaichik at 01:49 AM JST - 29th April

I have to agree with Northlondon and Nuts. The tabloids did a pretty comprehensive hatchet job on this woman, painting her as a selfish, money-obsessed harridan, but I can't feel sorry for her late husband. As you sow, so shall you reap, and all that.
northlondon at 04:09 AM JST - 29th April

But this woman has not 'got away with killing her husband' ? She has just been sentenced to 15 years in jail after not a very good job of disposing of her husbands body.

The Mary Winkler case does indeed sound like a light sentence. Although she served 210 days in jail. The main difference being that Mary Winkler was given the benefit of mental health counselling as part of her sentence. Kaori Mihashi never got that treatment, even though it was recommended.

I'm not sure why the Mary Winkler case is being quoted ? Kaori Mihashi has just been sentenced to 15 years in jail.
akuma1985 at 09:21 AM JST - 30th April

Mental health problems or not, than her husband hurt her or not thats not the questions. she killed him, cuted him and throw the body parts in a park. it's don't look as an accident. 15years in jail it's maybe severe. 10 years will be better. if we must release all people who kill because they have mental probs. Japan's security will become worst than US.
akuma1985 at 10:12 AM JST - 30th April

@Northlondon. I agree with you about than it's sad for her. the probs is not than she killed her brutal husband. if she killed and called the police right after maybe now she not will convict for the next 15 years. but she dismemered him and throw the parts. I m sorry but it's don't look as accident. You know the justice in japan is strange if you cut your husband you will go 15 years in jail but in you do the same without reason on a filipina girl you get for maybe 5 years. my gf was in jail for 3 weeks because she was drunked and punched a staff in a club. And hatakeyama san gets life for killing 2 child. also when do you think about what she did after the murder. i don't think than the Mihashi san's 15 years are too long or to strict. But it's right the japanese women are scary
Blue_Tiger at 12:09 PM JST - 30th April

SLAP ON the WRIST!!!! This was a sickening crime, and this woman ought to be locked up for the rest of her natural life at the very least!
frontandcentre at 12:11 PM JST - 30th April

"In Japan your family kills you!"

dr jones - that's not a valid point. Sadly, being killed by a family member or someone well known to you is the norm almost everywhere. Japan is no special case, except that the murder rate is far, far lower than most other countries.
Azrael at 06:20 PM JST - 30th April

frontandcentre at 12:11 PM JST - 30th April "Sadly, being killed by a family member or someone well known to you is the norm almost everywhere."

Aren't we taking the black humor a little too far?