Murder of husband and eldest son…65-year-old woman’s “too sad motive” for setting fire to her home

A pathetic arson case occurred in a quiet residential area of Asahi City, Chiba Prefecture.

On November 18, the Chiba Prefectural Police arrested Toshiko Ohashi, 65, on suspicion of arson and murder. Her husband Yoshio (67) and son Yoshito (32) were found dead in the burned ruins of their house.

Early in the morning of the 17th, the day of the crime, black smoke billowed from the house where the three lived, causing a commotion around the house. One of the neighbors who saw Ohashi running away from the fire recalled the scene.

I heard a voice saying, ‘Help! I rushed outside and found Toshiko sitting on the road with her face completely blackened. Her father had poured kerosene on her and set fire to the house. My son is inside. I managed to escape,’ she said. But Yoshio was bedridden, so I thought Toshiko’s statement was strange.

Subsequent investigation revealed that the suspect Ohashi had sprayed kerosene on the house and set it on fire. Why did the tragedy occur? What came to light through the investigation was a sincere reality that reflected the distortions of an aging society.

A man who lived in the neighborhood and had been in contact with the deceased Yoshio described the family’s situation.

Toshiko was a quiet and gentle person. However, I heard that she suffered from a brain disease about four or five years ago, and since then she has been suffering from aftereffects in the lower part of her body. He walked with a bent back and a limp, rarely went outside, and was only seen when he was hanging out the laundry. She also took a cab for shopping, and about three times a week a car from the day service stopped in front of her house.

According to the man’s acquaintance, his son Yoshito also had severe disabilities and was bedridden, receiving specialized treatment at a hospital in Chiba City several times a month.

The main household chores were apparently done by Yoshio, who was a carpenter. He was often seen doing the actual shopping and taking out the garbage. According to another neighbor, Yoshio bought a mini-car and used it to take his son to and from the hospital.

It was in March of this year that the gears went out of whack. Yoshio, who had been supporting the family, suffered a stroke and has been bedridden ever since. His income was cut off and he had to take care of both of them, so the burden on Mr. Ohashi increased rapidly.

The last time I saw her was about two days before the incident. I greeted Toshiko in front of her house, but she looked a little pale, so I was curious. Even though it was a small community, the family hardly socialized with their neighbors, especially after Yoshio’s collapse.

As the whole family became ill, it was hard to believe that Toshiko alone could take care of them. I wondered why they didn’t put her in a facility, but perhaps it was also difficult because of the small area and the eyes of the people around her. However, from anyone’s point of view, the situation was clearly abnormal.

During the police interrogation, Ohashi reportedly stated that he was “tired of taking care of her”. Mr. Seizo Sasaki, a former lieutenant of the Saitama Prefectural Police’s Investigation Division 1, explains the future of the case as follows.

If he killed two people in an arson attack on a building, he could be sentenced to death. But if the motive is nursing fatigue, the sentence is likely to be lenient. In a case that occurred in Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture in November 2007, a 71-year-old woman was charged with strangling her parents-in-law and husband to death because she was tired of caring for them, but the sentence was 18 years in prison. She was sentenced to 18 years in prison. What kind of care was she receiving? I think that corroborative investigation is necessary to maintain the trial.

The motive for the arson murder that burned her family to the ground was so painful and sad.

From “FRIDAY” December 10, 2021 issue