it just did it right there."

His flippant attitude at the time and during his trial outraged Yayoi's husband, Hiroshi, and prosecutors, who appealed the life sentence, demanding the death penalty.

But the appellate court upheld the Yamaguchi District Court's sentence, and the case is now before the Supreme Court. The court took receipt of the defense statement Thursday in which lawyers claimed the defendant did not intend to kill, but was only trying to silence their screams and panicked.

The court is expected to rule on the lower court sentence in the next few months.