Playback ’15] “Kawasaki Nursing Home Serial Murder” “Man Who Knows All About It” Talks about His Anxiety in Direct Interview with This Magazine

What did “FRIDAY” report 10, 20, and 30 years ago? In “Playback Friday,” we revisit the topics that were hot at the time. This time, we introduce “Kawasaki Nursing Home: Three Consecutive Deaths by Falling: The Man Who Knows All the Nights” from the September 25, 2003 issue, which was published 10 years ago.

From 2002 to December, three residents fell to their deaths in a row at a nursing home in Kawasaki City. Initially, the police treated the deaths as strange occurrences, but in ’15, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police’s Investigation Section 1 began a full-scale investigation. It was revealed that A was the only person on duty on all three nights of the deaths, and that the facility had a number of problems, including theft and abuse (all ages and titles are current at the time. The descriptions in parentheses are taken from past articles).

Three elderly people mysteriously fell to their deaths one after another.

《”What is it?　I don’t have time; I have a dentist appointment at 5:30.”

A, who may have known everything, showed no sign of surprise at this magazine’s direct interview and responded calmly.

The first fatal fall at a nursing home in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, occurred on November 4, 2002. A male resident (87 at the time) fell from a fourth-floor balcony and died. On December 9 and 31, a female resident, then 86 and 96 years old, fell to her death from the balconies on the fourth and sixth floors, respectively. Both occurred in the middle of the night, between 1:30 am and 4:00 am.

There was no suicide note, and it was thought that she fell by mistake, but both balconies had 120cm-high fences. It was doubtful that the two women, who were elderly and in need of nursing care, would be able to climb over the fence on their own. Moreover, the two women were small (150-155 cm in height), and some of them were unable to walk. Nevertheless, the manager of the nursing home explained at a press conference that it was an accident.

The home had three staff members on duty at night. On November 4, December 9, and December 31, when the residents fell, A, who had been working at the home since May 2002, was on duty. Let us return to the exchange between the reporter and A.

What was the situation when the old man fell down?

A: “I can’t talk about that now. I can’t talk about that kind of thing based on my judgment alone.

–Someone’s involvement is also suspected.

I don’t know what you mean by involvement. But it is true that I was on duty.

–How do you feel about the news?

I feel uneasy.

–What do you mean by “uneasy”?

I am worried that I am under suspicion.

A resident says, “I’m going to die.

The nursing home is a six-story reinforced concrete building with 80 rooms, all of which are private rooms. The monthly rent was 220,000 yen, and it was a high-class nursing home. However, before and after the deaths from a series of falls in 2002, various problems were uncovered at the nursing home.

In March 2002, a male resident (83 at the time) died in the bathtub. In May 2003, the aforementioned A was arrested by Kanagawa Prefectural Police for stealing a total of 116,000 yen in cash and four rings and other items from three residents between January and April, and was dismissed from the facility on disciplinary grounds.

In addition, on May 7, four male staff members, who were not A, verbally abused a female resident (85) suffering from dementia, saying such things as “Die! and other abusive behavior on a daily basis, according to a complaint by the woman’s family. The woman’s family told the following story to this magazine.

“One day, my mother told me, ‘A man hit me. So I filed a complaint with the facility, but they wouldn’t take it up. So I decided to leave evidence, so I hid a recording machine in my room and recorded the sound. I hid a recording machine in my room and recorded the sound. I consulted with the police and the city office, and they advised me to get some video footage, so I set up a camera. In a short period of time, the facility was unable to prevent three people from falling to their deaths. It is frightening to think what could have happened to my mother if I had made a mistake.

This magazine obtained this video. It clearly shows a staff member (different from Mr. A) suddenly hitting a female resident on the head, and a female resident being strangled by the same staff member who kept saying, “You’re going to die,” as she was abused.

What was the truth behind the inexplicable series of deaths from falls? The police were investigating, but without any physical evidence such as security camera records or testimonies from other residents, the investigation was hampered by the lack of evidence.

It was still a murder case.

As for the abuse case, in December ’15, three staff members at the time were sent to prosecution on charges of assault, one was later charged at home, and the remaining two were not prosecuted. Kawasaki City administratively suspended claims for nursing care fees from the facility for three months.

The background to the abuse included a shortage of labor in the nursing care industry and a decline in the skills and morale of the staff. The nursing home management company that was involved in the incident was a company that had expanded rapidly in the 2000s by entering the nursing home business. The reason A was able to repeatedly steal from residents was that any staff member could access the residents’ rooms with a master key.

A, who was convicted of theft in September 2003 and sentenced to two years and six months in prison with a four-year suspended sentence, was not involved in the aforementioned abuse cases. However, he was frequently questioned by the police as a material witness in a series of deaths caused by a series of falls.

Then, in February 2004, A was arrested after making a statement admitting to killing a resident. A was sentenced to death in March 2006, and his death sentence was finalized in May 2011.