JAPAN: ONE DEATH SENTENCE UPHELD IN KITAKYUSHU SERIAL KILLINGS

the Fukuoka High Court rejected an appeal by Futoshi Matsunaga, 46, who received the death penalty with Junko Ogata, 45, for serial killings in Kitakyushu. The high court commuted the death sentence against Ogata, however, it rejected Matsunaga's appeal. Matsunaga and Ogata were accused of killing seven people. They allegedly abused the victims by starving them and giving them electric shocks. All of the corpses were cut up and the bones thrown into the sea. Since there were no bodies serving as evidence, investigations into the killings were based mainly on statements by both defendants and a 23-year-old woman who escaped from them after being imprisoned.