A district court in Japan’s western prefecture of Oita sentenced a man to death on Tuesday for killing an elderly woman and her son and committing robbery in 2020.
Sato Shoichi, a 39-year-old company employee was accused of illegally entering the house of a 79-year-old woman in Usa City and killing her and her 51-year-old son. Sato was also charged with stealing over 80,000 yen, or about 500 dollars.
Prosecutors argued that the crime was committed with an extremely strong intent to kill, deserving public condemnation.
Sato has consistently denied that he committed the crime.
The defense also argued that he is innocent, saying someone else could have done it.
Presiding Judge Karashima Yasutaka rejected the defense’s assertions and sentenced Sato to death as prosecutors had demanded.