A video posted online early Sunday morning that shows what appears to be the beheaded corpse of Islamic State group hostage Kenji Goto has left his family and friends speechless and in anguish.
Goto's 78-year-old mother, Junko Ishido, was barely able to speak as she read from a prepared statement to express her grief.
"Kenji has passed away. I am at a loss for words, facing such a regretful death," she said late Sunday morning at her home in Koganei, western Tokyo. "The only thing I can do now is to shed tears of deep sorrow."