Masumi Hayashi

The 42-year-old former insurance saleswoman testified at the Osaka High Court, answering questions from her defense team.

The Wakayama District Court sentenced Hayashi to death in December 2002, finding her guilty of killing four people, including two children, and making 63 others ill by putting arsenic in a curry stew on July 25, 1998.

"My daughter came in when I took a turn to watch (the curry pot in a garage). I was with her all the time and I never left the garage," Hayashi said in response to the charge that she poisoned the stew while she was alone.

Hayashi said her daughter tasted the stew while they were watching the pot, but that she never touched the pot or sampled the stew.

She gave the testimony in response to a question by her defense lawyer about her activities between 12:20 p.m. and 1 p.m. on the day of the crime.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 26, 2004
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