JAPAN: Man, 60, arrested for hanging 90-year-old mother in Chiba

. CHIBA, Japan / Japan Today / June 1, 2009 A 60-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for murder, accused of using a cord tied to an overhead beam to choke his 90-year-old mother to death in their Yachiyo City apartment. Police said Akiyoshi Ishiwata, who lived in the apartment with his mother, is accused of wrapping the cord around her neck as she sat in a chair and pulling the chair out from under her, causing her to choke to death at around noon on Saturday. Police said Ishiwata called his ex-wife on Saturday night and told her he had killed his mother, and she in turn called an ambulance. Ishiwata’s mother was found dead lying in a futon. Ishiwata said his mother had frequented a hospital for psychiatric care. He was quoted by police as saying: “She said she wanted to die, so I helped her.” © 2009 GPlusMedia