Daisuke Mori
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese nurse, who was convicted for giving lethal doses of the muscle relaxant drug Vecuronium
to his patients in a clinic in Izumi-ku
, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture
. He was suspected as a medical serial killer
, though he was convicted of one murder.
Mori was suspected of a murder of 89-year-old woman Yukiko Shimoyama on November 24, 2000. He was also suspected of four attempted murders; a 1-year-old girl on 2 February 2000, an 11-year-old girl on 31 October 2000, a four-year-old boy on 13 November 2000 and a 45-year-old man on 24 November 2000. He was arrested on January 6, 2001.
When he was arrested, he was reported to have murdered at least 10 people. However, he insisted on his innocence four days after his arrest. He may have protected his girlfriend. There were also many problems and mysterious deaths in his hospital, so his lawyers insisted that he was accused as their substitute. The U.S. newsmagazine Time
criticised Japanese hospitals as well as him.
The district court in Sendai sentenced him to life imprisonment
on March 30, 2004 for one murder and four attempted murders. Japanese police insisted that Vecuronium
's molecular mass
is 258, but this true molecular mass is 557. His defense pointed out this contradiction on the high court, but the high court in Sendai upheld the original sentence on March 22, 2006. He appealed to Supreme Court, which upheld the sentence on February 25, 2008.
Vecuronium
Vecuronium is a muscle relaxant in the category of non-depolarizing blocking agents. Vecuronium bromide is indicated as an adjunct to general anesthesia, to facilitate endotracheal intubation and to provide skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery or mechanical ventilation...
to his patients in a clinic in Izumi-ku
Izumi-ku, Sendai
is the northernmost ward of Sendai, in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Although Izumi-ku is mostly a residential area, it is also home to several college campuses; and companies such as Alps, Freescale Semiconductor, and Toppan have a large presence in the Izumi Parktown Industrial Park.As of November...
, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture
Miyagi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...
. He was suspected as a medical serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
, though he was convicted of one murder.
Mori was suspected of a murder of 89-year-old woman Yukiko Shimoyama on November 24, 2000. He was also suspected of four attempted murders; a 1-year-old girl on 2 February 2000, an 11-year-old girl on 31 October 2000, a four-year-old boy on 13 November 2000 and a 45-year-old man on 24 November 2000. He was arrested on January 6, 2001.
When he was arrested, he was reported to have murdered at least 10 people. However, he insisted on his innocence four days after his arrest. He may have protected his girlfriend. There were also many problems and mysterious deaths in his hospital, so his lawyers insisted that he was accused as their substitute. The U.S. newsmagazine Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
criticised Japanese hospitals as well as him.
The district court in Sendai sentenced him to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
on March 30, 2004 for one murder and four attempted murders. Japanese police insisted that Vecuronium
Vecuronium
Vecuronium is a muscle relaxant in the category of non-depolarizing blocking agents. Vecuronium bromide is indicated as an adjunct to general anesthesia, to facilitate endotracheal intubation and to provide skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery or mechanical ventilation...
's molecular mass
Molecular mass
The molecular mass of a substance is the mass of one molecule of that substance, in unified atomic mass unit u...
is 258, but this true molecular mass is 557. His defense pointed out this contradiction on the high court, but the high court in Sendai upheld the original sentence on March 22, 2006. He appealed to Supreme Court, which upheld the sentence on February 25, 2008.
External links
- Very Questionable Care TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, January 22, 2001 - Crime Library. Angles of death: The Male Nurses -- Farther East Timeline Japan Institute of Constitutional Law