23-yr-old man confesses to throwing old people to their death from balconies since 2014

zainab quadri

February 16, 2016 4:17 PM

A former nursing home worker in Japan is suspected of killing three elderly residents by throwing them from balconies at various times over the last two years

Hayato Imai

A former nursing home worker in Japan is suspected of killing three elderly residents by throwing them from balconies at various times over the last two years. Daily Mail reported.

After he was arrested for allegedly hurling an 87-year-old resident to his death, Hayato Imai, 23, confessed to throwing other elderly people from balconies.

He was detained yesterday on suspicion of killing Tamio Ushizawa at the nursing home in Kawasaki southwest of Tokyo in November 2014, according to the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Department.

Police say the victim died of ruptured organs after allegedly being pushed by Imai from the fourth-floor balcony, the spokesman said, adding that his motive was not yet known.

The suspect also admitted killing two more residents in their 80s and 90s in similar circumstances in 2014, the Asahi Shimbun daily and other local media reported.

'I did it to kill him,' Imai was quoted as telling police about the death of Ushizawa, Kyodo News reported.

Imai was fired last year after being arrested on suspicion of stealing cash and jewellery from the room of a female resident at the facility.

The elderly are traditionally respected in Japan and there is even a national holiday reserved for honouring senior citizens.

So the motive for killing them is still unclear.