Death of 5-year-old shines light on Japan’s troubling murder-suicide crisis
The incident highlights what experts say is a disturbing trend caused by factors ranging from financial pressure to social stigma
According to the police report, a store employee alerted authorities in Saitama Prefecture’s Kumagaya City at around 1pm after noticing the boys slumped over in the car.
Emergency services declared the younger boy dead on the spot, while his 30-year-old father and older brother, said to be under 10, were rushed to hospital with critical injuries.
Police later determined that the father had trapped his children in the vehicle with lit charcoal briquettes, leading to carbon monoxide poisoning. Investigators plan to question the man once he regains consciousness.
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