Tomoyuki Furusawa was sentenced to death by the Yokohama...

Tomoyuki Furusawa was sentenced to death by the Yokohama District Court, Japan, after being convicted of murder and illegal confinement. Furusawa, 38, was convicted of breaking into the home of his wife's parents in the predawn hours of July 31, 2002, and stabbing his wife's 71-year-old father Masayoshi Ujigawa, and her mother Fumiko. He also killed his wife's 12-year-old son, a first-year junior high school student, the court found. Furusawa had broken into the home in Yokohama's Tsuzuki-ku in an attempt to abduct his wife, who was living apart from him as their divorce was proceeding, but reportedly began to stab his victims when they resisted. After murdering the three, Furusawa abducted his wife and fled by car. He was arrested in Toyama on August 4. "He attacked members of a family of young and old one after the other, involving people who had no fault at all. It was a cold-blooded and brutal crime, and it was extremely unjust," Presiding Judge Masazo Ogura said in handing down the ruling. During his trial, Furusawa had said he "Felt the knife stabbing something," but had denied murderous intent, saying he did not intentionally try to stab his victims. The court said it was reasonable to admit murderous intent because he had stabbed his victims several times.