Japanese man gets life for killing wife, 16
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-23 15:32

A 23-year-old man was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for beating to death and torching the corpse of his 16-year-old wife to keep her quiet about their sham marriage.

Yuko Ishibashi

Hironobu Suzuki married Yuko Ishibashi in 2003 and adopted her family name in a scheme to obtain a new identity and borrow more cash from moneylenders.

The Chiba District Court ruled that he decided to kill Ishibashi for fear that she might disclose the real reason for the marriage.

It cited as a motive a previous suspended sentence Suzuki had received for crimes including theft, which would have resulted in prison time if it became known he had committed another crime.

The court also voided his marriage with Ishibashi.

Suzuki, in conspiracy with four teens he knew, beat Ishibashi with a hammer and dropped a stone weighing about 60 kg on her in the parking lot of a cemetery in Chiba in the early hours of Oct. 1, 2003, according to the court.

Suzuki and three of the four teens then poured lighter fuel on the girl's body and set fire to it.

In a separate trial last August, the four teens received sentences of up to 10 years in prison.

Suzuki's lawyer argued that the killing was not premeditated, saying there was no motive as the victim had never threatened Suzuki with going public about the fake marriage.

The lawyer claimed Suzuki instead acted in the heat of the moment after seeing the teens escalate their attack on the girl.

Presiding Judge Kenji Katoya dismissed this version of events based on witness accounts from other parties involved.

It was "a heinous, inhuman criminal act in which the victim, trying to cover her head and curling up in a ball, was kicked dozens of times and pelted with stones," Katoya said, adding that the accused dropped the heavy stone on her as the victim cried out for help.

"The defendant has repeatedly engaged in defending himself and shifting responsibility, and is considered unfit for correction," the judge noted.

Ishibashi's parents expressed frustration that Suzuki was not sentenced to death.

"I wanted capital punishment," Ishibashi's 45-year-old father said after the ruling.

During an earlier session of the trial, the father told the court, "Give back Yuko to us. I want to inflict the same pain (to the accused) that (my daughter) endured."

The victim's 39-year-old mother told reporters after the ruling, "(Suzuki) will have a chance to rebuild his life, but Yuko does not."

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