A man was sentenced to death in a retrial Thursday for the fatal robbery of an elderly couple at their central Japan home in March 2017.

Hiroshi Yamada was given the sentence sought by prosecutors after the Nagoya District Court ruled that he had murdered the couple with the intention of robbing them.

In the first trial in March 2019, the court had ruled that the robbery might not have been premeditated and given Yamada, 48, a life sentence.

But the Nagoya High Court reversed the ruling in January 2020, saying his motive was not thoroughly examined in the trial. The Supreme Court in September the same year dismissed an appeal by the defense team against the high court's decision.

The defense, which sought a life sentence, had argued that Yamada was mildly retarded and had committed the crime impulsively after being angered by the victims' actions and words.

According to the indictment, on the evening of March 1 or early morning of March 2, 2017, Yamada killed both Katsuo Oshima, 83, and his wife Tamiko, 80, by stabbing them in the neck before stealing a wallet containing around 1,200 yen ($8.80) in cash.

Yamada was known as Hiroshi Matsui at the time of the crime, but later changed his name.


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