Overview
- The Kobe District Court on October 31 sentenced 28-year-old Hideaki Nozu to life imprisonment in a lay-judge trial.
- The case involved a 2020 attack at the defendant’s Takarazuka home that killed his grandmother, brother, and mother and seriously injured his aunt with a crossbow.
- Prosecutors sought the death penalty, arguing complete criminal responsibility based on planning that included purchasing a powerful crossbow and choosing a shooting position.
- The defense argued diminished capacity tied to autism-spectrum traits and worsening obsessive symptoms and asked for a 25-year term.
- Presiding Judge Matsuda recognized full responsibility but said developmental disorder characteristics affected motive formation; no appeals were reported at the time of the verdict.