Friday February 17, 2012

Woman sentenced to death commits suicide in Sendai jail cell

SENDAI —

Officials from Miyagi prison in Sendai City said Monday that a woman in their custody had committed suicide on Sunday.

Masako Chiba, 46, was found hanging by a sheet under the window in her cell at around 11.30 a.m. Sunday and was rushed to hospital, but was confirmed dead at 12.45 p.m. Prison staff found a suicide note in the cell.

Chiba was sentenced to death by the Morioka District Court for the murder of a Buddhist priest and his mother in June last year in Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture, but was in the process of appealing that sentence.

The Sendai District Public Prosecutor’s Office will conduct an autopsy on Monday to confirm the cause of death.

News reports

  • 0

    techall

    What did the note say, was it a confession of guilt? Not enough details in this story. Maybe emulating Miura.

  • 0

    shiuu

    That. Settles. That.

  • 0

    samsarks

    it is better she left us .certainly she would have been released some time later.she has paid for her sin.sayonara

  • 0

    borscht

    She commits suicide at noon and nobody noticed? Let us play the Miura blame-game until we have more details.

  • 0

    some14some

    No change in death count, from execution to suicide.

  • 0

    PASHA_51

    So law of nature takes its course.

  • 0

    555Book

    Why would she want to kill a monk?

  • 0

    BBLeo

    Was in her suicide note of her admission of guilt or sorry for the monk and his mother. One less to hang case closed next please. I do also wonder why she killed the two people. Was it revenge or an unwanted affair in the air? Hangman just lost a customer.

  • 0

    elbudamexicano

    All in all horrible news! May all of them RIP, and have better lives next time around.

  • 0

    The_Marion

    I have a feeling that all our comments would be un-necessary if we knew the contents ofthe suicide note. This poor women was not of a Right mind and should have been under a "suicide watch." (After all, she was on appeal.)

  • 0

    The_Marion

    Note: The Police gave this women sheets for her bed, there-fore the Police contributed to her death. A true "Suicide Watch" takes from the prisoner anything that might be used to seek demise. (Shoe-laces, belts and the prisoner's privacy............)

  • 0

    usaexpat

    well end of a rope or end of a bed sheet the result is the same.

  • 0

    bdiego

    I wonder if it's an issue with Japanese prisons or the article, but 1 hour and 15 minutes isn't exactly "rushed to a hospital" by any standards.

  • 0

    TheguyNextdoor

    seriously, wonder what the hangman is thinking...."damn....that $&%*h...had a nice new rope." save tax payers money.

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