Bowling ball murder/suicide attempt

CHIBA — A 45-year-old woman was arrested Monday on suspicion of attempted murder by hitting her husband on the head with a bowling ball while he was asleep at their home in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, police said.

Shinobu Hirata allegedly said she intended to commit suicide after killing her 42-year-old husband because of debts including a mortgage loan and borrowings from consumer finance companies and other sources, the police said.

Hirata is suspected of hitting her husband’s head several times with his 7-kilogram ball the husband kept at home around 6:45 a.m., according to investigators.

The husband sustained injuries that will require short-term treatment, but suffered no threat to his life, the police said.

The incident was reported to the local fire department’s emergency call number by their sixth-grader son. The couple also live with a kindergarten-aged daughter.

(日本时报)

By Sun Tzu on 15-01-2007