A housewife in her fifties who raped her mother-in-law reveals the shocking feelings she had immediately after the crime.

Early “temporary adjournment

In the previous article, “[A Body Found in Underfloor Storage] Saitama City Mother-in-law Murder Case: Shocking Reason Why Family “Didn’t Notice” Mother’s Absence for a Week,” we discussed the “shocking cover-up” by the defendant who took her mother-in-law into his hands.

Read the first part of the article, “[A Body Found in Underfloor Storage] Saitama City Mother-in-law Murder Case: Shocking Reason Why Family “Didn’t Notice” Mother’s Absence for a Week “.

On January 29, 2013, the Saitama District Court has been holding a jury trial for Michiko Watanabe, 55, who is accused of murder and abandoning the body of her mother-in-law, who lived with her.

Prior to the defendant’s questioning, the defense presented evidence. First, he presented photographs of signs that had been posted here and there, including on the walls of the living room of his house.

On them were written, “Michiko (defendant Watanabe), the housewife of this house, is a pain in the ass and cannot do what her mother-in-law tells her to do,” and “She only lies every day, day after day. Next, the defense attorney played a conversation between Watanabe and her mother-in-law four days before the incident, which was recorded on her mother-in-law’s smartphone, in the courtroom.

She said, “All of this is a lie, you didn’t get the 1.5 million, hmm?

Why don’t you shut up, get out, leave the key and get out.”

As his mother-in-law’s accusing voice played in the courtroom, Watanabe’s face turned bright red and he began to shake convulsively, closing his eyes and crying.

When Judge Kenichi Emi asked, “Defendant, are you all right?” to which the defendant replied, “I’m fine,” but the trembling did not stop. The prosecutor said, “Your lawyer will tell you exactly what you want to say. The court was temporarily adjourned after an hour-long recess .

After a recess of about one hour, questions were asked of the defendant. First, the defense attorney asked , “Please tell us about your daily schedule.

He answered, “Every morning, I get up at 5:00 a.m. at the latest and take care of my cat first. Then I open the shutters, water the flowers, make an offering at the Buddhist altar, and prepare the family meal. After that, I pack lunches for my husband and (his) younger sister. My mother-in-law instructed me to pack my younger sister’s lunch box with the three primary colors of green, yellow, and red so that it would not look bad when eating with others.

After that, I would clean and do laundry. Then, at 9:00 p.m. every day, I would go to my mother-in-law’s room to say ‘good night’ with a piece of paper saying that I had done the chores as instructed.

With a script written by his mother-in-law…

He was given detailed instructions about housework and was also obligated to report to his mother-in-law on line what time the family returned home.

He was then asked about the financial problems with his mother-in-law that led to the incident. First, when asked about the 1,420,000 yen transferred from his own mother on August 21, ’18, Watanabe replied.

I told my mother, as scripted by my mother-in-law, that ‘I had to make up the difference because I had spent the money that had been deposited in my account of 10,000 yen each month. ‘ I took down the money that was sent to me and gave it to my mother-in-law.”

As for the 1.5 million yen he received from his own mother on November 2, ’18, he explained.

“I contacted my mother with a script that said, ‘I stalked you and I have to pay 3 million yen in fees to your other wife,’ and I received the 1.5 million at Niigata Station. My mother told me, ‘This is the limit. When I returned home in Saitama, my mother-in-law was standing at the entrance waiting for me, checked the contents of my bag, and the 1.5 million went to her.

But in the script (the amount needed) was 3 million. What I actually brought back was 1.5 million. The actual amount I brought back was 1.5 million. Call your parents’ house.’ That same day, I called my parents’ house and said, ‘I want the rest of the money. Then, on November 3, he sent 500,000, and two days later, 1.5 million, for a total of 2 million to his mother-in-law.

After that, his mother-in-law continued to send him money, and by June 2009, the total amount exceeded 7.7 million yen. When the defense attorney asked, “What did your mother-in-law spend the money on?” He answered, “My mother-in-law spent a lot of money on pachinko pachislot.

He answered, “My mother-in-law went to many pachinko parlors, so I think she spent it on pachinko. Also, there were times when she would suddenly say, “Let’s go [on a trip] to wherever.”

With the death of his own mother in August ’21, the money transfers based on a false script ended. However, from around March ’23, the mother-in-law began to persistently press him, saying, “1.5 million, give it to me.

This 1.5 million referred to the 1.5 million left over from the 3 million he was supposed to receive at Niigata Station on November 2, ’18. Watanabe testified that no matter how many times he told her “I don’t have it,” she would not listen, and that she sometimes became violent with him.

Some feelings of “relief.”

“Whenever other people (family members) were not around, he would hit me on the head and pull my ears, saying, ‘Give me the 1.5 million dollars. They hit me on the head and pulled my ears. I was even sprayed in the eyes with kitchen detergent,” said Watanabe.

As these days went on, he began to have eczema of unknown origin on his wrists and arms due to lack of sleep. Then, at around 8:15 a.m. on April 22, ’23, when (her husband’s) younger sister left for work and the living room was empty, her mother-in-law began to say again , “1.5 million, give it to me. Watanabe testified what happened next, with tears streaming down her face.

After she said, ‘This is your last chance,’ I couldn’t hear what she was saying. It was like a blur, and I felt that her consciousness was gradually fading away. As soon as I heard my mother-in-law come back from the bathroom and say, ‘Don’t let me out because I’m closing my eyes,’ I heard a snap sound inside me.

My mother-in-law fell off the chair, and I called out ‘mother’ two or three times, but she did not respond. She was bleeding from her face, so I wiped the blood with a tissue, put a bag over my mother-in-law’s head, pulled on her clothes, and took her to the underfloor storage area. I opened the lid, moved the plastic case out of the way, placed my mother-in-law in the underfloor storage, and then moved her body so that the plastic case would fit back into place. I don’t remember exactly what happened after that.”

When asked by the defense attorney , “How did you feel when you found out your mother-in-law was dead?” Watanabe answered, “I felt like what should I do.

I felt half a sense of panic and half a sense of relief that I wouldn’t be told about the money.

The prosecutor asked about the fact that after the 22nd, Watanabe sent a LINE message to his younger sister, which was supposed to be sent to his mother-in-law, and continued, “ It was supposed to be sent to your mother (laughs),” and asked, “Isn’t that a disguise to make it look like your mother-in-law is alive? He asked, “I ‘ve never heard of such a LINE before.

When asked by the prosecutor about the fact that he continued to send messages to his mother-in-law on LINE after the murder, he replied, “It’s just a routine for a day,” and denied the question whether he was trying to cover up the murder.

The sentence handed down on February 12 was seven years in prison (the suggested sentence, 10 years). The judge pointed out Watanabe’s “lack of consideration for the victim” in dumping the body under the floor. He will now begin the long days of confronting the crime he committed.