A life sentence has been finalized for a 35-year-old Peruvian man convicted of killing six people including two children in a city north of Tokyo in 2015.

The decision, made by the top court's No. 1 Petty Bench and dated Sept. 24, rejected an objection by Vayron Jonathan Nakada Ludena against the court's earlier decision to reject his appeal against a lower court ruling.

Photo taken Aug. 18, 2020, shows the Supreme Court in Tokyo. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Life prison term to be finalized for Peruvian man for killing 6


Nakada Ludena was sentenced to death by the Saitama District Court in March 2018.

But the death sentence was overturned last December as the Tokyo High Court ruled that the defendant was in a state of diminished capacity at the time of the crimes due to schizophrenia and he could not be held completely responsible for his actions.

His defense appealed the high court ruling, saying he should be acquitted due to his mental state. But the top court rejected the appeal on Sept. 9.

According to the ruling, Nakada Ludena fatally stabbed a couple in their 50s, an 84-year-old woman, and a 41-year-old woman and her two daughters, aged 7 and 10, after breaking into their homes in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, to steal money and valuable items.