Chiba woman arrested over 89-year-old mother’s 2024 killing

Chiba Prefectural Police have arrested a 54-year-old woman on suspicion of killing her 89-year-old mother at her home in the prefecture’s city of Isumi.

Hideko Ishigami, a part-time worker from the city of Mobara, Chiba Prefecture, is suspected of strangling her mother, Shizuko Ishigami, causing her death by asphyxiation sometime between around 2 p.m. and 4:40 p.m. on Aug. 5, 2024, according to police. Ishigami has denied the allegation.

Investigators have found that Ishigami managed her mother’s bank account and used more than ¥10 million ($68,000) from the account to make payments to online video streamers, media outlets reported, citing investigative sources.

Police are looking into whether a dispute over money might have played a role in the killing.

Shizuko Ishigami lived alone in Isumi, while her daughter lived separately in Mobara. People familiar with the family told Fuji News Network that the mother and daughter regularly visited each other. One acquaintance said the mother had helped pay for her daughter’s home and had spoken of having substantial financial assets, while also saying she would not give her daughter any more money.

Several sensors designed to detect movement inside the mother’s home stopped registering activity after Aug. 5, 2024, police said. A security company checked the residence the following day and found her collapsed on the floor of a second-floor bedroom.

There were no apparent signs of a struggle, according to media reports. An autopsy determined that she died from asphyxiation caused by pressure to the neck.

Police established an investigative task force of about 100 officers after the death was classified as a homicide.

Authorities said they identified Hideko Ishigami as a suspect using footage from security cameras in the area and other evidence. Investigators are continuing to examine the motive and circumstances surrounding the killing.