Masaru Iijima

"My father and sister robbed me of my space to live in, and I made up my mind to kill my father even though I may be executed for doing that," police quoted Masaru Iijima as saying.

Iijima was arrested Nov. 25 on suspicion of killing his parents, Kazumi, 57, and Sumiko, 54, and older sister, Yukie Ishizu, 31, the previous day at their home in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture.

According to local police, Iijima had largely confined himself to his home since around the time he turned 20.

His slain father, a deputy curator at a local museum, had urged Iijima to get a job. In recent years the suspect had sought to avoid his father in the family home, police officials quoted Iijima as saying.

Several years ago, Iijima began to wish a quick death upon his father and to believe he would have "no space to live in" as long as his father was around.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 4, 2004
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