35-year-old woman suspected of murder at nursing home: ‘Surprising behavior before and after the incident’

What were you doing?

The woman, who was questioned by her co-workers about her suspicious behavior, became sluggish. She did not give a clear explanation and went home before work. She left the company voluntarily.

On December 8, the Ibaraki Prefectural Police arrested Emi Akama, 35, an unemployed woman living in Koga City. She is suspected of murdering Setsuji Yoshida, then 76, who was a resident of the “Keyaki-no-sha” geriatric health care facility in the city, in the early afternoon of July 6 last year. Mr. Yoshida’s condition suddenly changed even though he had no serious health problems. He was pronounced dead at the hospital where he was taken.

At the time, Mr. Yoshida was sleeping in a bed in a room for four people. Mr. Akama is suspected of injecting a large amount of air into Mr. Yoshida’s vein using an empty syringe from an intravenous drip tube attached to his leg. The bizarre behavior was witnessed by his colleagues. Immediately after the incident, Akama was questioned by his co-workers, and he immediately resigned from the company, as if he thought it was a bad idea.

The “Keyaki-no-sha” asked Akama for an explanation, but he could not give a satisfactory answer, so they consulted the police. The staff and the hospital where Mr. Yoshida was taken were interviewed and investigated, which led to his arrest.

Why was he caught red-handed in another case?

The suspect, Akama, qualified as a nurse about 15 years ago. She had worked as a nurse at hospitals in Saitama and Tochigi prefectures, but worked as a care worker at the “Keyaki-no-sha”. She was not in a position to handle IVs or syringes.

The suspect, Akama, started working at the “Keyaki-no-sha” in April 2008. She is said to have been well received by her acquaintances for her cheerful and friendly personality. I heard that she used to wake up early to make lunch boxes for her husband, who got married last November.

While her reputation was good, she also had many troubles.

In the beginning, she was living with her husband’s parents. In the beginning, she was living with her husband’s parents, but there were frequent problems such as cash missing from their wallets. The family relationship deteriorated and she has been living separately from her parents since this summer,” said another reporter from a national newspaper.

Akama was also caught in a separate case in November this year. He was arrested for shoplifting 12 items, including beef, worth about 5,000 yen at a supermarket. He was indicted.

It is not known if there was any connection between Akama and the deceased Yoshida. What was his motive? Mr. Taihei Ogawa, a former detective of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police and a crime journalist, tells us.

The suspect is a qualified nurse. The suspect is a qualified nurse, so she must have known the consequences of injecting a large amount of air. This is not just a prank. I sense a clear intent to kill.

There are two possible cases. It could be a personal grudge or a bizarre desire to experiment to see if people would die, as I learned in nursing school. However, since she voluntarily resigned immediately after the incident, I think she had a sense of guilt.

Several other tenants were found to have died suspiciously at the “Keyaki no sya. The suspect, Akama, has denied the charges.