Prosecutors demanded five to 10 years imprisonment Wednesday for an American on trial for allegedly killing an Irish exchange student in Tokyo last May.
Throughout the trial, the 19-year old defendant, whose name has been withheld because he is a minor, has maintained his innocence over allegations that he strangled 21-year-old Nicola Furlong in a hotel in Shinjuku Ward in the early morning of May 24, 2012.
But during Wednesday's session, prosecutors reiterated their claim that the defendant had put heavy pressure on Furlong's neck with a "strong intent to kill" and denounced the minor for showing no remorse. They also brushed off claims by the defense lawyers that Furlong died of excessive alcohol and drug intake, stating, based on an autopsy finding of strangulation, that the marks found on her neck and blood concentration in her face showed she had been strangled. The prosecutors further added that drugs were not a significant factor leading to her death.