Overview

• Police arrested Haru Taira, 26, and Nanami Taira, 26, on suspicion of abandonment resulting in death, and on September 27 sent them to prosecutors after both admitted repeatedly assaulting their daughter since last autumn.
• The child was taken to a hospital on July 10 in cardiopulmonary arrest and died, and a judicial autopsy concluded she succumbed to traumatic shock caused by multiple blunt-force injuries.
• The parents told investigators they avoided seeking medical care because they feared being suspected of abuse.
• Investigators say the mother told hospital staff a jaw injury came from a jungle gym fall but later said she had pushed the child, with imaging confirming a mandibular fracture.
• The girl weighed about 6 kilograms at death, roughly half the typical weight for her age, and police are examining suspected insufficient feeding and reports the parents often left her at home while going out with their son.