Prosecutors say couple used cat's toilet box as bed for daughter who died

The Mainichi Shimbun
July 3, 2008
Source: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080703p2a00m0na013000c.html

FUKUOKA -- A couple accused of letting their 1-month-old daughter become weak and die went on trial at the Fukuoka District Court on Wednesday, pleading not guilty to part of the charges against them.

The couple, who were both aged 19 at the time of the incident, is accused of abandoning their responsibility as guardians, resulting in the death of the baby girl.

In their opening statements at the court, public prosecutors said that the couple's daughter had been made to sleep in a cardboard box that their cat had used as a toilet, highlighting the cruel conditions at the home.

When questioned over the charges against them, the couple said they had not acted intentionally. The husband told the court, "I did everything that I could do," while the wife told the court, "I tried in some way or other to give her milk."

According to the opening statements, the two failed to give their baby daughter, who was born on Oct. 25 last year, enough milk. Prosecutors also said they failed to take her to a doctor for treatment, causing her to die in a weakened state about one month later.

(Mainichi Japan) July 3, 2008

Teenage magician, wife arrested for starving newborn to death

The Mainichi Shimbun
November 24, 2007
Source: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20071124p2a00m0na024000c.html

FUKUOKA -- A teenage magician and his assistant wife have been arrested for allowing their 4-week-old daughter to starve to death, police said.

The magician and his wife, who are both 19 and thus cannot be named in accordance with the requirements of the Juvenile Law, were arrested for neglecting parental responsibilities resulting in death.

Their 4-week old daughter, who was born weighing 2,480 grams but died weighing just 1,800 grams, does not appear to have been fed for the most of the last week of her life, police said.

Police said the teenage parents of the girl born in Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Oct. 25 knew their child was barely taking in any milk and had become dangerously thin, yet they did nothing to seek treatment for her, allowing her to die in their home on Wednesday night.

Police said the girl's body showed no signs of external injury, but was covered filthy.

Police said the parents noticed the girl seemed ill on Wednesday night, but didn't call for an ambulance until the following morning, by which time she was already dead.

（Mainichi Japan） November 24, 2007