Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke IV, who was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of aiding his mother's suicide last month by giving her sleeping pills, said he ground the pills into powder, investigative sources said Wednesday.
The sources also said two types of sleeping pills have been detected in Ichikawa's body. Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department suspects that Ichikawa, 47, made his mother, 75, take the same sleeping pills in order for the pair to kill themselves together.
During voluntary questioning before his arrest, Ichikawa said he dissolved the powdered sleeping pills in water. He also said he covered his mother's face with a plastic bag after she lost consciousness, according to the sources.