In a disturbing case that has shocked Japan, a 75-year-old woman has been arrested after allegedly confessing to keeping her daughter’s body in a freezer for two decades.
The woman, identified as Keiko Mori, reportedly went to the police with a relative on September 23 and reported that she had been keeping her daughter’s body in a freezer at her home in Ibaraki prefecture, north-east of Tokyo.
Upon investigation, police found the body of an adult woman inside a deep freezer. A police spokesman said the body, which was clothed in a T-shirt and underwear, was in a state of decay. Mori reportedly identified the body as her daughter, Makiko, who would have been around 49 or 50 years old if she were alive.
Mori told investigators that her daughter died about two decades ago and that she kept the body because she was worried about being evicted from the house if the death was discovered. She had been living alone since the death of her husband earlier in September.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death. Mori has been arrested on suspicion of abandoning a body, a charge that often precedes more serious charges.
The case is a stark and tragic reminder of similar incidents in Japan and other countries, where individuals have hidden the bodies of loved ones for various reasons, including fear of losing a home or pension benefits. It also brings to light the social and psychological factors that can lead to such extreme and isolated behaviors.
