YOKOHAMA, Japan (NBC) – A mass murder defendant in Japan admitted on Wednesday that he stabbed 19 people to death in 2016.
At his first hearing on the massacre at a Care Home near Tokyo, the suspect admitted to all the charges against him.
He was charged with killing 19 and injuring 26 more people at the home for people with mental disabilities.
But lawyers for Satoshi Uematsu entered a not guilty plea, saying their client was insane at the time of the crime due to drug use.
Prosecutors are insisting that the defendant can be held criminally responsible.
The two sides presented their arguments in court in Yokohama.
The defendant was a former staff member at the facility and has repeatedly expressed hatred toward disabled people.
In an interview last month, he said he thinks “people who cannot communicate should be euthanized.”
A mental health evaluation has shown that he has personality disorders.
The court is set to deliver its ruling on March 16th.
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