<figure id="attachment_413257" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-413257" style="width: 664px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d0a7b6c5"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/02/90c28450bd4981ee1fa9b626b8866b55.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-413257" class="wp-caption-text">The apartment where the incident took place (some photos have been doctored)</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Pulling the ear and slapping also</h2>
<p> In the first part of the article, &#8220;[Go steal money from my parents&#8217; house] Strangling my mother-in-law to death&#8230; The &#8216;bad mother-in-law relationship&#8217; that drove a housewife in her 50s to commit a murder&#8221;, we reported on how a housewife in her 50s was driven by her mother-in-law into a corner, and eventually ended up in her own hands.</p>
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<p> Read the first part of the article, <a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/413158">&#8220;[Go steal money from your parents&#8217; house] strangled your mother-in-law to death&#8230; The &#8216;snooty daughter-in-law-mother-in-law relationship&#8217; that drove a housewife in her 50s to commit a heinous act</a> &#8220;.</p>
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<p> The trial of Michiko Watanabe, 55, who is accused of murder and abandoning a corpse of her mother-in-law, who lived with her, has been held at the Saitama District Court since January 29, 2013.</p>
<p> At the first trial, Watanabe&#8217;s husband and the victim&#8217;s eldest son, Mr. A, appeared in court. Mr. A, the victim&#8217;s eldest son, appeared in court for the first time to examine witnesses.</p>
<p> Mr. A married Ms. Watanabe in 2000. They lived with their son in Niigata City, but moved to a maisonette-style apartment in Saitama City around 2002. The living room was on the first floor, and each had their own room on the second floor, with Mr. A&#8217;s income covering their living expenses. Mr. A&#8217;s income covered their living expenses, and he also managed the family finances.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> My mother would often warn the defendant (Watanabe) about the way he did his housework and how he cleaned. Even if she said, &#8216;I cleaned,&#8217; my mother would sometimes say, &#8216;You didn&#8217;t do it. Even when I looked at her, there were still stains and dust, so I thought she was not doing it properly. I was also warned daily about the menu of meals, such as &#8216;there are many similar dishes&#8217; and &#8216;there are no vegetables'&#8221; (Mr. A).</span></p>
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<p> (Mr. A) When <span class="strongInContent">asked by</span> the prosecutor, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;Do you just verbally warn them?&#8221;</span> (Mr. A).</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The basic rule is just oral. However, there were times when the defendant would stare at a point on the ground without looking at my mother&#8217;s eyes or responding when he was being angry. But I could count on him to be violent, and if I saw him, I would stop him.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> When defense counsel asked about the division of household chores in <span class="strongInContent">the Watanabe household</span>, he replied <span class="strongInContent">, &#8220;In the Watanabe household, the defendant did the housework, including meals for six people, the defendant and my son did the cleaning, and each did the laundry</span>.</p>
<p> As for the incident that may have started the whole thing, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;My mother-in-law thought that Watanabe had 1.5 million yen hidden away,&#8221;</span> he testified in response to the judge&#8217;s question.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> About a week before he was killed, my mother told me that she thought the defendant had 1.5 million yen and was spending it freely, but I thought that was unlikely.&#8221;</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The blank &quot;about a week.&quot;"></div>
<figure id="attachment_413268" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-413268" style="width: 1695px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7c6f3461"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/02/14c4b1a97de300a007fa8a4c8d09b504-1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-413268" class="wp-caption-text">Watanabe arrested and sent to prison</figcaption></figure>
<h2> The subject of his mother never came up.&#8221;</h2>
<p> Mr. A&#8217;s testimony also revealed the family&#8217;s communication from the victim&#8217;s murder on April 22, 2011 to the discovery of his body on April 28, 2011.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When I came home before dawn on April 22, my mother complained to me about the defendant, saying that he did not answer her and that he was lying. I met the defendant around 6:00 a.m. After a short conversation, I went back to my room and went to bed. We usually have dinner together, my mother, the defendant, and my son, but that day, my mother did not come down (to the living room where the dining table was). When I asked the defendant to call my mother, she replied, &#8216;She is dizzy and sleeping, so you don&#8217;t have to call her. My mother had a chronic illness that sometimes put her in bed, so I didn&#8217;t think it was strange.</span></p>
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<p> In the Watanabe household, the defendant and his son routinely went to greet his mother at 9:00 p.m. every night.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> &#8220;I saw that my son had not gone to greet his mother, so I told him to go greet her, and the defendant told me, &#8216;He&#8217;s sleeping because his head hurts, so you should be quiet,&#8217; but I sent my son to his mother&#8217;s room, saying, &#8216;Go say &#8216;I&#8217;m home. After going to my mother&#8217;s room, my son said, &#8216;It was like I was a nobody,&#8217; but I didn&#8217;t pay special attention to what he said. The defendant told me that he was &#8216;bringing food to [my mother&#8217;s] room,&#8217; so the fact that I couldn&#8217;t see my mother never came up in the family conversation&#8221; (Mr. A).</span></p>
<p> When asked by the prosecutor, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;Please tell us how you found the body on the 28th</span>,&#8221; Mr. A said.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When I was sleeping in my room after returning from the night shift, I received a call from my older sister saying, &#8216;There is something wrong with my mother&#8217;s condition, so please check her room. My mother always makes sure her slippers are facing the same way when she goes to the bathroom, but after the 22nd, her slippers were still in the wrong direction, so I thought something was wrong.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> When Mr. A entered his mother&#8217;s room with his younger sister and looked at the bed, he saw that the quilt was raised as if a person was sleeping. When the quilt was turned up, it was camouflaged by cushions and rolled-up clothes, as if a person was sleeping.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The story &quot;went two or three ways.&quot;"></div>
<h2>I&#8217;m getting a divorce.&#8221;</h2>
<p> When Mr. A came down to the living room and asked Mr. Watanabe <span class="strongInContent">what was going on</span>, he simply replied, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;I don&#8217;t know.</span> As he searched the attic, storeroom, and other areas of the house, the thought occurred to Mr. A that <span class="strongInContent">his mother might have been murdered.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> While we were searching for my mother, the defendant said, &#8216;I told you yesterday,&#8217; or suddenly at the door, he said, &#8216;I don&#8217;t have [my mother&#8217;s] shoes,&#8217; or he said, &#8216;She disappeared when I went shopping the other day. His story changed two or three times, so I thought (defendant Watanabe) might have killed her. After searching around, I opened the lid of the underfloor storage, thinking it was impossible, and the plastic case inside looked like it was floating. I saw my mother lying under it. I knew immediately that she was dead.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I went to the defendant with the plastic case in my hand and hit him on the head, saying, &#8216;Isn&#8217;t that you? The defendant said things like, &#8216;Let me go,&#8217; and &#8216;What about my son?'&#8221;</span></p>
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<p> His older sister then called 110 and the incident was discovered.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> My mother was strict in some ways, but she was also a caring woman who cared a lot about my son&#8217;s future. I don&#8217;t think she would have been killed. Since the incident, the house has become dark and life has changed so much that my older sister can no longer go down to the living room by herself.</span></p>
<p> Mr. A broke down in tears and <span class="strongInContent">asked</span> the prosecutor, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;Do you have any thoughts about the defendant?</span> Mr. A <span class="strongInContent">cried</span>, and when asked by the prosecutor, &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">What</span> do you <span class="strongInContent">think</span> of the defendant <span class="strongInContent">?</span> When asked by Mr. Watanabe&#8217;s defense attorney, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;How do you intend to deal with the defendant in the future?</span> He answered, &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">I don&#8217;t want to be involved anymore, so I&#8217;m thinking of getting a divorce.</span></p>
<p> The next day, on the 30th, the defendant was questioned, but as soon as the court opened, Watanabe began to hyperventilate and the court was temporarily adjourned.</p>
<p> In the next article, &#8220;[I Feel Half Relieved&#8230;] A Housewife in Her 50s Who Manhandled Her Mother-in-law Reveals the Shocking Emotions She Had Immediately After the Crime,&#8221; we will discuss the &#8220;feelings she had immediately after the crime,&#8221; as revealed by Watanabe during the defendant&#8217;s questioning.</p>
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<p> In the next article, &#8220;[I Feel Half Relieved&#8230;] A Housewife in Her 50s Who Manhandled Her Mother-in-law Reveals the Shocking Emotions She Had Immediately After the Crime&#8221;, we will discuss the defendant&#8217;s feelings immediately after the crime.</p>
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 Nakahira

 Shinji Hasuo

 Michiko Watanabe, 55, is accused of murder and abandonment of a corpse for killing her mother-in-law (then 68 years old) and dumping her body under the floor. How was the defendant driven into a corner?

The shocking reason why the family “didn’t notice” the absence of the mother for a week.

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