JAPAN ROBBERY-MURDER GETS DEATH PENALTY

Presiding Judge Shinji Sugiyama of the Morioka District Court in Japan sentenced Kazuyuki Wakabayashi, 30, to death for killing two women in Hirono, Iwate Prefecture, last July 19. Kazuyuki Wakabayashi, a house painter from Gonohe, Aomori Prefecture, was convicted of breaking into the home of Noriko Ueno, a 52 year old office worker, killing her and her 24 year old daughter Yuki, stealing about 20,000 yen in cash and about 80 items worth 45,000 yen, and abandoning their bodies in the mountains nearby.