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The Niigata District Court has sentenced a 29-year-old man to life in prison for killing his 29-year-old wife and one-year-old daughter in 2021. Ken Watanabe, a former nurse, who had pleaded guilty to the charge, was found guilty Friday by a lay judge panel, NHK reported. According to the ruling, Watanabe strangled his wife Haruka and daughter Sunao with a cord at their home at around 10:30 a.
m. on Nov 7, 2021. He called 119 at 1:30 p.
m. and reported he had found his wife and daughter dead. The prosecution said Watanabe’s motive was to eliminate his wife and daughter, who were an obstacle to continuing his relationship with his lover.
During there trial, the court also heard that Watanabe had secretly given his wife sleeping pills before she was about to go driving. In his verdict, the presiding judge said, "The crime was planned well in advance, and after the murder, he also tried to make it look like his wife had committed a double suicide with their daughter. His motive of wanting to become closer to his lover was selfish, and his criminal responsibility is extremely serious.
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