According to Japan's largest media outlets, a question about video games has ended in an unsettling murder. Note: This post contains content that some readers might find objectionable.
In Tokyo, 42 year-old mother Shizu Shigeta is on trial for killing her 5 year-old son in September of last year. Asahi.com reports that her five-year old son Koushi was asking for his Nintendo DS, which Shigeta had thrown in the trash the previous day after he wouldn't clean up. "Which is more important: Your game machine or breathing?" the mother asked. "The game machine," he replied. The mother then proceeded to tie up her son and put him in two garbage bags, causing him to suffocate to death.
"What I did... Make no mistake, it caused Koushi to die," Shigeta admitted in court. The night before the incident, Shigeta took sleeping pills, mixing them with alcohol. As part of her defense, she is now saying this mixture resulted in her suffocating her child.
目黒5歳児窒息死事件 母親、起訴事実認める [FNN]
おかあが奪った息子の命（きょうも傍聴席にいます）[Asahi]
Photo: FNN
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