A woman suspected of confining and murdering her parents, a niece and nephew has effectively admitted to most of the charges against her, but is maintaining that she acted under the orders of a man arrested in connection with the case, her lawyer said Friday.
Junko Ogata, 40, and Futoshi Matsunaga, 41, who had been living together in Kitakyushu, were arrested in March after a teenage girl who had been confined by the couple managed to escape.
A subsequent investigation determined the girl's father, as well as six of Ogata's relatives, had vanished after living with the couple. Police suspect they were abused and killed, although no bodies have been found. Ogata and Matsunaga have been served warrants alleging they murdered four of Ogata's relatives.
According to the lawyer, Ogata said, "none of this would have happened if it were not for Matsunaga," adding that she had done something she could never undo.