Alzheimer’s Patient Stabs Granddaughter To Death, Says He Doesn't Remember

An elderly man in Japan admitted to killing his 16-year-old granddaughter in her bedroom nearly two years ago, but he could not remember the incident due to his mental disorder.

Susumu Tomizawa repeatedly stabbed his granddaughter Tomomi in the neck with a 17-centimeter- (6.69-inch) long kitchen knife in his home in Fukui on the night of Sept. 9, 2020, CNN reported.

Police arrived at the scene and arrested Tomizawa after he called his eldest son and claimed he had found Tomomi's bloodied body.

Tomizawa, who has Alzheimer's disease, has admitted to killing Tomomi, but he insisted on not remembering carrying out the act. The 88-year-old also could not remember what his fight with Tomomi was about.

Alzheimer's disease is a mental disorder that "slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks," according to the National Institute on Aging.

"He was insane at the time due to dementia and alcohol consumption... and therefore pleaded not guilty," Tomizawa's lawyers argued in court.

However, a judge ruled that Tomizawa understood the weight of his actions, citing the telephone call he made to his son about Tomomi's body after the stabbing.

"His manner of committing the crime was dangerous and his strong intent to kill was evident," a judge at Fukui District Court said.

A court-assigned doctor, Hiroki Nakagawa, conducted a psychiatric evaluation of Tomizawa, confirming that the elderly man has Alzheimer's based on his past medical records, according to a report by Vice. The condition likely did not influence Tomizawa's crime.

"He had a motive for committing the crime, such as quarreling with Tomomi, and his actions were purposeful and consistent with his intent to kill, as he stabbed her in the neck," Nakagawa said.

Fukui District Court sentenced Tomizawa to four years and six months in prison over his granddaughter's death on May 31, Japanese news outlet Shukan Bunshun reported.

The sentence was reduced because of Tomizawa's illness. Japan punishes murders with a minimum prison sentence of five years, but it can be increased to life imprisonment or even the death penalty.