Mutter wegen Mordverdachts verhaftet, nachdem drei Kinder in Ebina, Kanagawa, tot aufgefunden wurden

A 49-year-old mother was arrested for the murder of her 9-year-old son, one of three elementary and junior high school siblings who were found collapsed in their home in Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture, on March 29 and later died. The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the other two siblings as well.

On the 29th of this month, three siblings, an eldest daughter, a 15-year-old junior high school student, a 13-year-old junior high school student, and an eldest son, a 9-year-old fourth grader, were found bleeding from the head and later died in a room on the second floor of a house in Ebina City. According to the fire department, the mother of the three was also rescued while trying to hang herself with a rope and was treated at a hospital.

The police suspected that the mother knew something about the situation, and after interviewing her after she was treated, she admitted that she had killed her 9-year-old son by beating him around 3:30 p.m. on the 29th, and so she was arrested on suspicion of murder on the night of the 30th.

The suspect, Atsuko Hayashi, 49, a company employee, was arrested and is believed to have used some kind of weapon.

The police believe that the mother may have attempted a forced suicide based on the conditions at the scene, and are investigating the circumstances of the other two deaths in detail.