Mother arrested over murder of 5-year-old daughter, attempted murder of 11-year-old son

YOKOHAMA — Police in Yokohama have arrested a 43-year-old woman on suspicion of killing her 5-year-old daughter and attempting to kill her 11-year-old son at their home on Wednesday.

According to police, at around 8:30 p.m., the woman’s husband came home from work and found the two children collapsed, NTV reported. He called 110 and said his wife had killed their two children.

When police arrived, they found the boy, a fifth-grader in elementary school, collapsed in a room on the second floor, and his sister collapsed in another room on the same floor.

The two were taken to a hospital, but the girl was confirmed dead just after 10 p.m. The boy is in a critical condition.

Police said the mother, Ai Kamiju, has admitted to the allegation but has so far given no motive.

Police said she attempted to kill her son by strangling him in some way, and killed her daughter by drowning her in the bathtub.

The house, in Kohoku Ward, is home to six people, including the parents, both in their 40s, and the grandparents, both in their 70s.

© Japan Today