crime

Woman arrested after trying to strangle 1-year-old daughter

60 Comments

A 20-year-old woman was arrested for attempted murder on Monday, after she allegedly tried to strangle her 1-year-old daughter to death at their apartment in Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Sunday night.

Police said the woman was sleeping beside her daughter in the living room when she woke up at about 10.40 p.m. and began to strangle her daughter with her right hand. Her husband, also 20, was watching TV in the same room, stopped her immediately. He rushed the girl to hospital where she regained consciousness and is in a stable condition.

The woman called police and told them what had happened, and she was arrested on Monday for attempted murder. Police said the woman had been receiving psychiatric help for stress brought on by child-rearing. The woman was quoted by police as saying, "I thought things would be easier without her."

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Way to stay on top of things pop! Glad the kid is OK. 20 is pretty young to have a kid. Gonna be hard on dad now that mom's in the clink, though. Hope grandma and grandpa can help.

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Yes, I'm glad the father was home, too. It's scary to think what would have happended if he was working, or stepped out to the store for a few minutes.

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We don't usually get to see this outcome. Good job mat!

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sad to think stress would make you think killing your own child would make you better off but thank God big daddy was there to help the innocent child.

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Mate!

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The woman was quoted by police as saying, “I thought things would be easier without her.”

Here we go again with ibaraki, the very sewer-like inaka I live in, yikes! The most typical response from these scumbags. I bet she was looking forward to buy that new Louis Vuitton bag with the "extra money" by not having her baby around.

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@KyokoSmile: I guess she thought it would been better if they got a puppy or a cat.

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Here we go again with ibaraki, the very sewer-like inaka I live in

Ibaraki has some lovely places. maybe you chose poorly and it's time to move.

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What shocked me was that after one of mt friend got married with a Japanese, she got pregnant and bore a child, after two weeks her husband and in-laws are already expecting her to clean the house, wash the dishes, go to the market and serve her in-laws just like before. And she has a child to take care of, her stomach still painful from the labor and she got so stressed that she is wishing she is dead. I don't know about this woman. She is suffering from depression and the news is not clear what are the circumstances for her mental problems. Blaming her as just plain scumbag is totally callous at this point.

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It's a stressful time for anyone to raise a child lately, but that's no excuse. I'm also glad the father was there at the time to prevent this from becoming a horrible tragedy. I hope that woman gets some serious help before they put her in the same room with that little girl, as whatever help she was getting before obviously wasn't enough.

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There is absolutely no excuse but its stressful for a couple of 20 years old in modern japan to have a baby.

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DenDon at 09:47 AM JST - 2nd March

Here we go again with ibaraki, the very sewer-like inaka I live in

Ibaraki has some lovely places. maybe you chose poorly and it's time to move.

My friend, I live in Tsukubamirai which is by far the most upperclass small city after Moriya. By sewer-like I was referring to the gross amount of this type of crimes coming from this specific area. Saitama is rather worse in fact. Nothing to do with the city structure or landscapes. Do you read the news everyday? I do.

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Blaming her as just plain scumbag is totally callous at this point.

Sorry you feel that way, and sorry for your friend too, yet there is NO reason to try to snatch the life out of a baby. NOTHING!! I went throught exactly the same thing with my previous japanese husband, i was the slave of the house while everybody went out and enjoyed the pachinko and restaurants. Me at home taking care of the baby and scrubbing the floors in order to please the family. All for nothing, as my baby got abducted at the end. Still, the thought of killing my own flesh and blood? goddamn myself if I ever think such an abomination. I rather kill myself 100 times over.

Again, I am deeply sorry you feel this way. please tell your friend to seek help, it's not too late.

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Mikihouse, AzabuSamurai-- I agree with you, and I wouldn't call her a complete scumbag. However, the fact that many women, REGARDLESS of age are stressed and have been stressed raising a child makes it hard to not raise an eyebrow at her behavior. We don't know her situation in full, but I'm sure there are many, many women in the same situation, and they haven't tried to kill their child. What I really would like to know though is where she was getting psychiatric help from, because like I said before, something wasn't working apparently. It sounds like she was trying though, so that's more than most women who cave and murder their children.

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String this witch up. We don't need any more of her sort.

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the woman had been receiving psychiatric help for stress

Some pretty callous comments here today. Of course there's no excuse for trying to kill a baby, but calling someone with a recognised mental problem who was seeking help a 'scumbag' is a bit overboard, I think.

And the comment about 20-year-olds wanting to kill a baby to get a 'new Louis Vuitton bag' with the 'extra money' is totally beyond the pale. How much 'extra money' do you think there is in a family where the main breadwinner is 20 years old?

mikihouse -

It's traditional for new mothers to go home to Mum for the confinement and first month or so, the thinking being that Grandma will look after everything while the new mother gets her strength back and learns how to look after baby. It's sad that your friend's Japanese family weren't able to give her the help and consideration she needs, her own family presumably being far away. If she and her husband are living with his parents, it sounds like the old-fashioned kind of 'work the yome into the ground' arrangement. I hope your friend gets the help she needs. For a start her husband needs to put his foot down, but is probably unable to face up to his parents if he's living under their roof.

String this witch up. We don't need any more of her sort.

Wow Ivan, go easy on the compassion there. Take a deep breath and maybe empty out all the psychiatric wards first? Set them on fire, maybe?

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Of course there's no excuse for trying to kill a baby, but calling someone with a recognised mental problem who was seeking help a 'scumbag' is a bit overboard, I think.

Agreed completely. The fact that Japan still considers most legitimate psychological illnesses a 'family shame' prevents these people from getting the help they need with their lives. And postpartum depression and other problems aren't just about feeling sad; the chemicals in the mother's body are seriously out of whack and she might do things that she'd never do in a rational state. While this woman was getting help, it obviously wasn't enough to alleviate the problems in her life.

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If it was a colicky crying baby, I can understand the feelings, but one should never act on them. The lady needs help, and the guy should file for divorce and take the kid.

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i remember being so stressed out when my kids were babies, even though i never hurt my kids and tried to kill them. i remember when i saw an article about a father dropped his baby on purpose and the baby died, he said the baby wouldn't stop crying and he was going mad - if i read that article BEFORE i had my kids, i would have thought he was an evil man, but at that time i had my small baby and knew how things was stressful from time to time, i felt rather sorry for the father. so, not knowing the whole situation, i would not call this 20-year-old girl a scumbag. I do agree that it was not acceptable to try to kill a baby, but at this point, all i can say is that i am so glad that the father was right there and took the baby to the hospital.

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goddog - the guy should file for divorce????? what? here's what the guy should do --- help his wife to get help, support her emotionally and BE THERE FOR HER. when she is healed, she will regret what she did (as i assume what she did was because of the stress -- i am not saying what she did was a good thing, it was definitely wrong, but at that time, she probably couldn't make any rational decision). She needs to get help, get better, and love the child.

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Nice to know that I can use mental depression and stress as an excuse to try to kill my children any time. People will be totally sympathetic of me and won't labeled me. yay

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Fishy, tell that to the poor Yates mom who drowned her 5 babies back in Texas. but then again, depression and stress, it wasn't her fault at all, right? poor mommy.

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kyoko-- i am not saying what she did is forgiven, what she did was definitely not acceptable.. (and i understand where you are coming from and there definitely are some scubbags who would replace their kids to fancy bags and shoes) but she needs to get help and get better.. she's mentally ill and she needs to get better for the child so that she won't do anything crazy again and so that the child will not lose her mother. We all know children need their mothers and instead of taking the baby's mother away and lock her up, it'd be better for the baby to have the mother nearby - and for that, she needs to heal.

And I read what you wrote and your ex's family sounds terrible.. That is not forgiven and when mothers get support from their families, this kind of sad stuff won't happen as often I think.

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Looks like she is suffering from POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION. A very well documented and legitimate mental disease that a very surprisingly high number of new mothers suffer from. They need to get her some help before she sees her child unsupervised again.

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Such a terrible mother. She is really evil.

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A 20-year-old woman

Shouldn't this say A 20-year-old married woman instead?

Poor baby and mom. Glad the father was smart enough to do the right thing. Shouldn't the mother be diagnose with postpartum depression?

An excerpt of postpartum depression @http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/depression-pregnancy.cfm#f

*The symptoms of postpartum depression last longer and are more severe. Postpartum depression can begin anytime within the first year after childbirth. If you have postpartum depression, you may have any of the symptoms of depression listed above. Symptoms may also include:

* Thoughts of hurting the baby * Thoughts of hurting yourself * Not having any interest in the baby

Postpartum depression needs to be treated by a doctor. *

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Nice to know that I can use mental depression and stress as an excuse to try to kill my children any time. People will be totally sympathetic of me and won't labeled me. yay

No, you can't - and I get the sarcasm in your reply. But we're also saying that while hurting one's own child is still reprehensible, there are people out there who do have legitimate mental problems that cause them to do these things. You're grouping people who would kill their children readily and willingly with people who are suffering from mental and psycological diseases together, which isn't fair.

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I think she's innocent. Mentally ill people attack children most often.

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Okisufer said it best. Maybe the stress was too much to bear. The law should be forgiving,

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kazan, we is too much people, speak for yourself, don't apologize for this woman's act. Believe me when I say I fully understand depression and stress. The act of trying to kill your own child is beyond comprehension to me. Nothing could excuse that. period.

Depression, stress and all the mentally, emotionally related illnesses..no one is immune to them, but fortunately we can seek help.

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KyokoSmile, when did I say I was apologizing for anything? I still said her actions were reprehensible. And I said 'we' in reference to all of the people replying here who think that labeling this woman as completely evil is far too harsh. She was obviously seeking treatment, so we owe her that she understood she had a problem and was trying to fix it, which is more than most women do.

And I fully understand depression and stress as well; you're not alone here. People cannot act rationally when their brains aren't working right. That's why I'm being more forgiving toward her. I'm happy the girl survived and I'm happy that hopefully this woman's family will finaly get her the help she needs.

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Things would be easier without the loser mother.

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kazan, naturally as a very loving mother to my own kids..getting emotional over something like this is expected. Yet I completely agree with you that people who are under extreme stress and chronic depression can't and won't act rationally. Moreover, I equally blame those who know someone in such situation and do nothing to help. If you know someone, please help, before something terrible happens.

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KyokoSmile, that's quite understandable. And you've got an excellent point there. I've intervened before on behalf of a good friend of mine who's behavior changed dramatically after she had her child, which is why I'm trying to explain the mother's actions to some of the posters here. If people could pick up on the warning signs more, I'm sure we would have less of these sad stories about children's bodies being found in freezers and trash cans.

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I wonder if this kind of thing happens more in Japan than other industrialized countries. It certainly seems that way. I wonder if there's something in the water in Japan.

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Kyoko, if you can't comprehend it then you should think twice before condemning this woman. If you literally cannot fathom a situation in which you could be so stressed or mentally disturbed that it would be possible to take it out on your own child, then you should read up on mental illness and postpartum depression before making any more statements. Seriously.

When people aren't thinking straight, they do things that hurt people they might not ordinarily want to hurt. Whether you would do that or not is pretty irrelevant. In fact, there's always the possibility that in an identical situation you or anyone else would act the same way. We just don't know. Saying "I would never do that!" is not helpful at all to anyone. Condemning the woman is not helpful at all to anyone.

Have a little sympathy. You have two 20-year-olds who have a baby. Sounds like their lives are essentially over before they began, but particularly hers. I know I would feel quite hopeless if I had thrown away my future like that, so young. And when you feel hopeless, sometimes you do irrational things. I hope she can get help and come to terms with her situation in a healthy way. And I hope the culture around her can change enough to give her theopportunities she feels she can't have because of the baby.

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Many people like to avert responsibility by blaming things on medical conditions - which in some cases may be legitimate - but whatever happened to personal discipline and taking responsibility for one's actions (responsibility) versus outright selfishness (not to mention the spouse helping reduce the home stress - big problem in male-dominated asian countries). Having a kid isn't extreme stress (although carrying the child for 9 months is DEFINITELY NOT comfortable). Being in a war zone is stressful (regardless of whether you're civilian or military). Having children is supposed to be fun and happy (although the care and maintenance can be tedious).

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Monkeys, you are right..I have sympathy for this poor woman. I guess it comes with the motherhood. If this thing ever happen to me, JT will support me. Thanks for your support.

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kids having kids...rarely ends well

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@skipbeat I know postpartum depression is a huge problem but this sentence makes me doubt that this was her problem

**

The woman was quoted by police as saying, “I thought things would be easier without her.”**

I am judging from the trend of Japanese parents, especially moms, who are killing their kids of all ages for selfish reasons. This sounds like one of those times. 'Easier' for her could mean 'more time to hang with the girls, sadly she is really still a girl herself. This child_killing is happening too often.

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@dracpoo2,

Police said the woman had been receiving psychiatric help for stress brought on by child-rearing.

It's a hard call but I would give the mother the benefit of the doubt until she is proven guilty. Yes, I find it sick that some Japanese women and men have no moral when it comes to toddlers and children. It boggles the mind.

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While I understand, to some extent, the arguments here for compassion and understanding regarding mental health and documented underlying psychological factors -- I haven't seen many pleas for clemency when it is a man who has murdered a child in a posted story. The tone, in such cases, is often far more vengeful and merciless. Whether people are willing to admit it or not, there is a double standard at work.

She may have been suffering from post-partum depression, along with other psychological problems, but that should not be an 'excuse' -- which is how it comes across in some posts here. If you are going to appeal for empathy, then let it be even handed and fairly applied across the board. I have no doubt there are other women who endured similar psychological states, yet did not raise a hand against their own child as this one did.

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This is a horrible news, but thank god the father stopped his wife from strangling their baby. I am sure she must be really stressed out, but in Japan you get what you pay for. The crappy Japanese govt. does not care about mothers, they give only lip service about helping children and from all the horrible comments here of wives being treated like slaves while the lazy in laws go play pachinko etc..are just sickening! In Mexico, many grandparents understand how tough it is to be a young parent, so they help out their kids, thank god we do not have stupid pachinko in Mexico! many Japanese grandparents should be ashamed of themselves for not helping out their kids out more in times of need like this stressed out poor 20 year old mother in god forsaken Ibaraki!

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Wow no morals at all

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man, ibaraki sucks!!

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The woman called police and told them what had happened, and she was arrested on Monday for attempted murder.

You really have to wonder if these people AND stories are REAL...?

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Sounds likely that this woman was suffering from postpartum depression or even psychosis. If she had told her psychiatrist statements like 'things would be easier' without her baby, wouldn't the doctor have had an obligation to report this to her husband or someone?

Postpartum depression is no excuse but it is recognized as a mitigating circumstance and can be used as a defense for murder in some countries.

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Good thing daddy was home.

To the people saying 20 is young to be a mother of a one year old: are you people for real? We have read about older mothers trying to do away with their offspring. Were they too old to be a mother? It sounds to me like the woman is a little bit crazy. And I doubt she is going to get less crazy for being older.

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@dracpoo2 What you said,

@skipbeat I know postpartum depression is a huge problem but this sentence makes me doubt that this was her problem

**

The woman was quoted by police as saying, “I thought things would be easier without her.”**

This is exactly what should tip you off about postpartum. My wife had postpartum, not this bad, but sometimes things like this would be said, because she thought that her life was effectively over. (And when things like this were said, the baby was taken out of reach so things like this could not happen.) Just like this woman probably thought. When you're 20 and have a kid, some women get the "baby blues" really, really bad, sounds like this one did. Now granted, she was trying to make it better, by receiving psyciatric help. But this is one of the VERY VERY FEW reasons the term "temporary insanity" was created.

@seaforte You said,

Having children is supposed to be fun and happy

Yea it is, but at the same time it can be VERY stressful. Especially to a brand new 20 year old family. There are so many factors that can make child rearing stressful. Yet as I said before, postpartum is one of the very very few reasons the legal term "temporary insanity" was created.

Under other circumstances, she wouldn't have done this, but because of her mental health, we have people that think THIS WOMAN IS TERRIBLE. Yea she was, terribly ILL.

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lucky escape for the kid. I wonder how the child will feel when it becomes an adult?

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IMO there is something in the Japanese mentality that makes this common. There is a social pressure for women to have children in Japan and get married, however many of these couples especially women are not prepared emotionally and mentally for the relationship yet alone children, combine that with lack of family and government support. These women are children mentally themselves.

As a side note I think abortion is frowned upon in Japan however killing the child once born seems to be more acceptable...I know thats not the right word but dont know how else to describe it.

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I have 3 boys and when im stressed out I always put the blame on my husband not my kids..he accepts it gracefully (but he never changes) and when I tell my kids today is not a good day for mama..they move out of my way and gives me a massage..even my two year old..cute little angel..I think 1 way to survive this stressful country for people with kids is thru communication..though in this case how to communicate with a 1 year old..just not enough..parenting is selflessness..and its really hard..esp. for a 20 year old jap mom..selfish people are a many in japan...theyre brought up that way...

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mummet, in my humble opinion your opinion is not humble at all. Its quite insulting and xenophobic, but most of all, groundless, unless you think focusing on an all Japan rag's crime section that has little more to print counts as a grounds. If you don't read about mothers outside of Japan trying to strangle their kids its because other rags have more horrible things to fill the pages.

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@mikemcfly87,

Police said the woman had been receiving psychiatric help for stress brought on by child-rearing. The woman was quoted by police as saying, “I thought things would be easier without her.”

Point taken. If that's the case then maybe some Japanese people should not be having children and raising them because it's a stressful job (raising children is stressful but it is both the parents responsibility to raise the child - maybe there should be classes to teach 20's something how to raise their children - the lack of communication between both of the parents is probably the problem because both of them should be sharing the burden and love of raising a child and not let one spouse do all the work). Crimes against children are inhuman.

The bottom line is some Japanese people don't want the responsibility of raising a child when it is their own fault in the first place. Taking it out on the child is not the right thing to do.

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Assess economic and emotional quotient & social network extent before approving reproduction.

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Assess economic and emotional quotient & social network extent before approving reproduction.

Not only that, reproduction must require a licence. All the world's troubles are generated by unloved, uncared children.

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"I thought things would be easier without her"

Hmmmm, why didn`t she think that BEFORE she got pregnant? Duuhhh!!

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“I thought things would be easier without her.” wow... so give the child away.. no need to kill it.

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This story makes me so mad!!! She tried to kill her baby over stress of child rearing..ok..i bet this B*tch doesnt work and is obliviously crazy. I was 23 years old when i had my son, not only am i living in a foriegn country (im married to a japanese) i also have a very very stressful full time job up to when i had my son and after and still continue to work. I didnt have help and felt alone but NEVER did i try to ever hurt my child!!! People like her are pieces of trash!! one more thing if you feel like you have violent thoughts towards your child get help!!! this should not be ok!!! My son is my heart, and i been stressed out to the max!! even suffereing from severe panic disorder and i never hurt my child!!! god this makes me so mad!! becuase you are married doesnt mean you should populate!!!!!!!

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@skipbeat - I concur.

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