The Kyoto District Court issued the ruling for 70-year old Chisako Kakehi on Tuesday. Kakehi was indicted for killing 3 elderly men and attempting to kill another between 2007 and 2013.
Prosecutors had demanded the death sentence.
The defense team pleaded not guilty, saying there was no evidence to prove how Kakehi obtained the cyanide. The team also argued that she could not be held criminally responsible because she has dementia.
The presiding judge said Kakehi told the court that she obtained the cyanide when she was running a printing factory.
The judge said Kakehi was with the victims when they were poisoned, and began the process for inheriting their assets immediately after they died.
She also said psychiatric tests show that Kakehi did not have dementia at the time of the poisoning and her consistent actions show that she was criminally responsible. The judge ruled that Kakehi took advantage of the victims’ trust in her as a partner and tricked them into taking cyanide capsules by saying they were health food.
The defense immediately appealed the ruling.
Kakehi met the victims through matchmaking services. Police suspect she killed 4 other men, but prosecutors did not indict her on those charges due to a lack of evidence.
Source and image: NHK
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