88-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder for ‘helping his wife die’

KUMAMOTO — Police in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, have arrested an 88-year-old man on suspicion of killing his 83-year-old wife.

According to police, Mamoru Maruyama strangled his wife Michiko sometime between the night of Sept 16 and the next morning in their room at a senior housing facility with care services, Kyodo News reported. He was quoted by police as saying his wife asked him to help her die.

When a staff member came to the couple's room at 10:30 a.m. on the 17th, she found Michiko lying face up on the bed, and called 119. She was confirmed dead at the scene.

Police found signs of strangulation around the victim's neck, which are believed to have been caused by her scarf.

Police said Maruyama told them "My wife had been saying recently that she wanted to die. I didn’t have much hope for our future, living like this, and I wanted to die, too.”

The couple had lived at the facility for the past three years.

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