A former employee of a pharmaceutical company who allegedly poisoned his wife to death with methanol in 2022 pleaded not guilty Monday, saying everything he’s been accused of is wrong.
“I have never thought of murdering my wife, nor have I ever had her take methanol,” Keisuke Yoshida, 42, told the Tokyo District Court on the first day of his trial. His lawyer said his wife took the methanol on her own.
According to the indictment, Yoshida, then a senior researcher at pharmaceutical firm Daiichi Sankyo, allegedly killed his 40-year-old wife, Yoko, by poisoning her with methanol at their home in Tokyo’s Ota Ward between Jan. 14 and 15 in 2022.
Prosecutors allege Yoshida, who at times used methanol for experiments, brought 2 liters of methanol to his laboratory before his wife died, and that there were traces of the chemical in a pack of shо̄chu that she normally drank.
“It is clear that the defendant had her take methanol,” prosecutors argued.
Explaining the motive behind the alleged murder, prosecutors pointed to their soured relationship, with both sides being unhappy with the other.
They also said that it was unlikely a third party had been involved in the wife's death and ruled out suicide because the couple had a young son and there were no remarks or actions that hinted at her intention to take her own life.
The defense team, meanwhile, said that Yoshida thought his wife had a hangover when she was throwing up just before she died, and disputed the prosecution's contention that methanol had been found in the pack of shо̄chu.
The court will hear the case over 14 days, with the last day of trial scheduled for Oct. 11, before it hands down its ruling on Oct. 30.
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