18 years ago, the 43-year-old defendant was accused of murdering an elementary school girl in a house in Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture. rice field.
In September 2004, defendant Kunihiko Katsuta (43) was charged with murder and other crimes for stabbing and killing a 9-year-old girl in the third grade at a house in Tsuyama City.
In May 2018, nearly 14 years after the incident, the defendant was arrested while serving time in prison for a different case, and immediately confessed that he had stabbed him. He denied the allegations and maintained his innocence at trial.
In January, the Okayama District Court in the first instance sentenced him to life imprisonment on the grounds that ``the confession at the investigation stage is credible,'' and the defense appealed.
In the judgment of the second trial on the 28th, presiding judge Takao Katayama of the Okayama branch of the Hiroshima High Court said, "The defendant's lawyer claims that the contents of his confession regarding the circumstances of the murder were unnatural, but it is sufficiently reasonable. It is possible.It is hard to believe that the defendant created a false story, and the first trial decision that acknowledged the credibility of the confession can be endorsed.”
About the judgment
Regarding the ruling on the 28th, Yukari Takenaka, head of the Okayama branch of the Hiroshima High Public Prosecutors Office, commented, "The 1st trial decision is supported, and I think it is an appropriate and reasonable judgment."
Meanwhile, Katsuta's attorney told reporters that he had filed an appeal.
family commented
The girl's bereaved family commented on the ruling, "Since both the district court and the high court have been found guilty, I would like the defendant to plead guilty and tell the truth. It has been a long time since the incident. I hope the trial will end soon," he commented.
Her family was said to be in tears as they heard her verdict in a partitioned area of her courtroom, according to her lawyers.