When Small Grievances Turn Deadly — The Motive and Hidden Crimes of an 18-Year-Old Suspect

That a nephew tried to poison his uncle is shocking enough—but what investigators uncovered after his arrest about his motive and other acts was even more disturbing.

On September 1, an 18-year-old high school senior living in Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, was arrested by the Chiba Prefectural Police on suspicion of attempted murder. He had allegedly tried to kill his 52-year-old uncle, with whom he lived, by putting toxic plant material into miso soup.

“At around 12:15 p.m. on July 17, the boy ladled the soup into a bowl himself and handed it to his uncle, saying, ‘Here you go,’ before going back to his room. After tasting the soup, the uncle’s tongue began to tingle, so he quickly spat it out into the kitchen sink. The soup contained leaves from a plant called oleander, which carries a potent toxin. Oleander is an evergreen shrub often planted in parks; every part of it—flowers, leaves, branches, and roots—is poisonous. Ingesting it can cause nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, and other symptoms. The boy had obtained the oleander in advance with the intention of killing his uncle,” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs section.

Why did the boy attempt to kill his uncle?

“There were no signs of conflict between them.
The uncle could never have imagined that his nephew would put poison in his miso soup. Even after drinking it, he didn’t suspect the boy or confront him. During police questioning after the arrest, the boy explained his motive: ‘I couldn’t stand his snoring anymore, so I decided to kill him,’” said an investigative source.

The uncle surely never dreamed he might be killed over loud snoring. About six hours after the poisoned soup incident, the boy left home and committed another baffling act in the neighboring city’s JR Chiba Station.

“At around 6:15 p.m. the same day, inside a women’s restroom at the station, he struck two women in their 40s and 50s multiple times on the shoulder area with a hammer. He was arrested on the spot by officers from Chiba Chuo Police Station on suspicion of assault. Regarding this case, he told investigators, ‘I wanted to hurt someone weaker than me—anyone would do,’” the same reporter said.

After the boy’s arrest, police contacted his mother and his uncle, who both rushed to the station—where the plan to poison the uncle came to light.

“While officers were speaking with the mother and uncle, the uncle appeared to be in poor condition. When his symptoms hadn’t improved by the next morning, he was taken to a hospital in an emergency. Because he had spat out the poisoned miso soup right away, his life was not in danger, but analysis of the soup residue in the sink revealed toxin levels sufficient to be lethal. The connection between the two incidents is still unclear,” said the investigative source.

The boy, now sent to family court, has admitted to planning the killing. Although it was fortunate that no one lost their life, the feelings of the family awaiting the boy’s rehabilitation must be complicated indeed.