A Man Sentenced to Life imprisonment After Stabbing to Death His Relatives Who Helped Him

The circumstances that led to the crime were self-centered and selfish. There is absolutely no room for leniency.

The judge criticized the man’s behavior. The defendant remained silent as he listened to the judge’s verdict.

On March 23, at a jury trial held at the Chiba District Court, Judge Go Okabe sentenced Masahiro Naito, 42, of Ichihara City, to life imprisonment. In April 2009, Naito murdered Yoshihiro Muto, then 74, a relative who lived in the city. He also seriously injured Muto’s eldest son (42), who was given a month’s wounds, and attempted to rob him of his money and goods.

Mutoh is the husband of Naito’s aunt, and the eldest son is her cousin. The defense emphasized that ‘there was no meticulous planning and the crime was accidental. At the time of his arrest, Naito did not admit to the crime, saying, ‘It was self-defense.

He seems to have the money.”

However, looking back at the circumstances of the incident, it is clear that the crime was not “accidental” and that the claim of “self-defense” does not hold water.

Naito was originally employed as a plumber at a company in Chiba Prefecture. However, he was not a workaholic and left the company in January 2009. He squandered his money on gambling and fun, and was saddled with a large amount of debt.

The deceased Mr. Muto did not know about Naito’s debts or retirement, but it appears that he was kind enough to counsel him.

According to the prosecution’s allegations, defendant Naito learned of Ms. Muto’s possession of a gold necklace and a luxury Rolex watch and thought, ‘She must have money. He approached Mr. Naito with the following advice. I asked him, ‘Would you lend me your Rolex? I will pawn it and borrow the money. I will recover the Rolex and return it to you when I have the money.

However, Naito had no intention of getting his pawned items back.

It seems that Naito, who was in need of money, came up with the idea of committing the crime in order to steal even more money and goods. Pretending to return the Rolex, he visited Mr. Muto’s home with an empty cardboard box. When Ms. Muto looked into the cardboard box, he stabbed her in the chest with a kitchen knife. He also stabbed his eldest son, who stopped him, in the chest and tried to kill him.

The eldest son fled to the yard and called 110, and police officers rushed to the scene. Mr. Muto was taken to the hospital, but was soon pronounced dead. The defendant fled the scene in a car and was taken into custody later that day.

He was so deep in debt that he killed a relative who had helped him with his problems. The prosecution ruled that he was a self-centered criminal who took a person’s life to protect his appearance because he could not confide in them about his debts and resignation. The Rolex that Mr. Muto owned was not purchased as part of a brand hobby, but was a gift from a business associate when he retired. …… At the March 23 sentencing, Judge Okabe condemned the defendant Naito, saying.

“For the defendant, who was in need, his uncle lent him a precious luxury wristwatch that he had received as a retirement gift,……. It was a selfish act of ingratitude.”

In his final opinion statement, Naito stated, “I want to make amends with everything I have in my life ahead of me.