Woman accused of dumping infant's body in concrete casket says he just keeled over

The Mainichi Shimbun
October 20, 2007
Source: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20071020p2a00m0na002000c.html

KYOTO -- A woman, arrested for abandoning her infant son's body after placing it in a plastic container and filling it with concrete, has told investigators that she did not take her child to a hospital after collapsing at their home, prefectural police said.

Yuko Hamano, 30, stands accused of abandoning the body of her 17-month-old son Kyotaro.

"I was watching TV at home with Kyotaro when he just slumped over. I thought he'd died, so I didn't take him to a hospital," she was quoted as telling investigators during questioning.

However, she stopped short of saying why she didn't take him to hospital, and why she failed to report his death to the local authorities or police.

Kyoto Prefectural Police are considering whether she can be charged with neglect.

An autopsy conducted on the infant has failed to determine the cause of his death. It did show that he was well-nourished, and there were no signs of external injury, suffocation or illness.

Nor do the results of the autopsy contradict with Hamano's statement that Kyotaro died in mid-March 2006, investigators said.

After Kyotaro's death, Hamano carried his body into the bathroom of her apartment in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, and placed it in a plastic container, which she then filled with concrete and left in a closet.

Hamano and her common-law husband, 48-year-old Masakatsu Takagi, later brought the body to Joto-ku, Osaka, and abandoned it near an apartment block. Takagi is also under arrest for his role in the incident.

（Mainichi Japan） October 20, 2007

Couple sent to prosecutors for cementing baby's body

Japan Today
Friday, October 19, 2007 at 14:18 EDT
Source: http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/420317

KYOTO — Police sent a couple to prosecutors Friday on suspicion of abandoning the body of their 18-month-old son after encasing his body in cement.

Yuko Hamano, 30, the baby's mother, is suspected of encasing her baby's body in cement in a plastic case in March last year at her and her common-law husband's apartment in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, and leaving it at her parents' home in Yawata of the same prefecture.

Masakatsu Takagi, 48, the baby's father and Hamano's common-law husband, allegedly took the body recently to another apartment in Osaka and abandoned it.

Kyoto prefectural police arrested the couple and found the body of the baby Kyotaro after questioning them based on information that the boy had not been seen recently. There were no external wounds visible on the body.

Both Hamano and Takagi have admitted to the allegation, according to the police.

Hamano has told investigators she first put her son in a closet for about three days after he collapsed and she thought him dead, and that she then encased his body in cement as it had begun to smell, according to the police investigation.

Takagi, 48, also admitted the allegaion that he carried the body from the home of Hamano's parents to an apartment in Osaka owned by an acquaintance of his earlier this month, police said.

The baby was born in October 2004 in Wakayama Prefecture and was brought up at a welfare facility in Kyoto Prefecture since a week after birth, according to the Kyoto prefectural government's Uji child consultation center.

Police found the body on Thursday after questioning the couple based on information that the baby had not been seen recently.

© 2007 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.

Baby found encased in cement; pair held

The Japan Times
Saturday, Oct. 20, 2007
Source: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071020a8.html

KYOTO (Kyodo) Police turned over to prosecutors Friday their case against a common-law couple who encased their dead 18-month-old son in cement and kept him hidden.

Facing initial charges of abandoning a corpse, Yuko Hamano, 30, was arrested Thursday after police questioned her at her apartment in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture. They later found her dead son, Kyotaro, in cement in a plastic case in an Osaka flat. Police believe the baby was encased in cement in March 2006.

The baby's father and Hamano's common-law husband, Masaatsu Takagi, 48, was held on initial suspicion of recently relocating the corpse, police said.

The baby was born in October 2004 in Wakayama Prefecture and from 1-week-old was brought up at a welfare facility in Kyoto Prefecture, according to the Kyoto Prefectural Government's Uji child consultation center.

Hamano took back the baby in January 2006 but he died in mid-March that year, after falling down, police quoted Hamano as claiming.

When an Uji child center official visited Hamano in May 2006, she said her child was living with her relatives.

Hamano has admitted encasing her son in cement. She said she had first kept his corpse in a closet for about three days after he "collapsed" and she reckoned he was dead. When the body started to smell, she embedded the baby in cement, police said.

Hamano took the corpse from her Uji apartment to her parents' home in Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture, around last November, police alleged.

Takagi admitted he later took the body to an apartment in Osaka owned by an acquaintance, police said.

It was not reported whether they suspect any foul play.

The Japan Times
(C) All rights reserved

OSAKA: Boy's body found in concrete

The Asahi Shimbun
October 19, 2007
Source: http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200710190059.html

A man and a woman were arrested Thursday after the body of a baby was found embedded in a concrete slab in the man's apartment in Joto Ward here. The body is believed to be that of the suspects' 18-month-old son.

Masakatsu Takagi, 48, and his common-law wife, Yuko Hamano, 30, were arrested on suspicion of abandoning the body. The two have admitted to the allegation, police said.

Police said the pair found their child unconscious at their apartment in Kyoto Prefecture last year. After the boy died, they encased the body in concrete, police said. (IHT/Asahi: October 19, 2007)

Kyoto couple held after son's body abandoned

The Yomiuri Shimbun
October 19, 2007
Source: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20071019TDY02309.htm

Police arrested a 30-year-old woman and her common-law husband Thursday on suspicion of covering the body of the woman's 18-month-old baby boy in concrete and abandoning it.

Arrested were Yuko Hamano, 30, of Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture, and her common-law husband, Masakatsu Takagi, 48, of Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture, both unemployed. They have admitted the allegations, saying that they abandoned the body after carrying it around for a while.

The Kyoto prefectural police discovered the body of Hamano's son Kyotaro at an apartment in Joto Ward, Osaka, on Thursday and will question the couple to determine how the boy died.

(Oct. 19, 2007)

Parents arrested over cementing of baby's body in apartment

Japan Today
Friday, October 19, 2007 at 07:09 EDT
Source: http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/420296

KYOTO — A woman was arrested Thursday on suspicion of embedding the body of her 1-year-old son in cement in a plastic case in March last year at their apartment in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, and the baby's father was held on suspicion of taking the body recently to another place, police said.

Yuko Hamano, 30, admitted to covering the body of her son Kyotaro in cement, saying she had first put him in a closet for about three days after he collapsed and she thought him dead, and that she then embedded the body in cement as it had begun to smell, according to police.

The woman allegedly took the body from the apartment to her parents' home in Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture, around November last year, they said.

Her common-law husband and the baby's father, Masakatsu Takagi, 48, also admitted the allegation that he carried the body from the home of Hamano's parents to an apartment in Osaka owned by an acquaintance of his earlier this month, police said.

The baby was born in October 2004 in Wakayama Prefecture and was brought up at a welfare facility in Kyoto Prefecture since a week after birth, according to the Kyoto prefectural government's Uji child consultation center.

Hamano took back the baby in January 2006 but he died in mid-March that year.

Police found the body on Thursday after questioning the couple based on information that the baby had not been seen recently.

© 2007 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.