Japan Today 2021/09/14
TOKYO
A 23-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of murder after burying the body of her newborn baby girl in a park in Tokyo in November 2019 went on trial on Monday.According to the indictment read out in the Tokyo District Court, Sayuri Kitai gave birth in a toilet at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Nov 3, 2019, then took the infant and buried her corpse in Italy Park, about 500 meters from JR Hamamatsucho Station.
The corpse was found partially buried at around 10:45 a.m. on Nov 8 by a park visitor who saw the baby’s face and one arm sticking out of the ground.
Prosecutors said Kitai, a company employee from Kobe, was charged with murder as the infant is believed to have been alive after her birth and tissues were found stuffed down her throat.
Kitai had just completed four years at university at the time. She took a plane to Tokyo on the evening of Nov 3 for a job interview. After leaving Haneda airport, she took a taxi to the park, where her movements were captured on a street surveillance camera. She was seen carrying a paper bag.
Kitai’s lawyer said she has admitted to the charge but said she panicked after giving birth because she had no one she could talk to about her pregnancy. The lawyer said Kitai’s mind became a complete blank after she gave birth in the toilet.
© Japan Today
