• Susumu Tomizawa admitted to killing his granddaughter Tomomi, 16, nearly two years ago.
• He has Alzheimer’s, a progressive neurological disorder that destroys neurons and shrinks regions of the brain.
• His lawyers argued he should not be held criminally responsible because of dementia.

It started with a family quarrel and ended with tragedy; a teenage girl was stabbed to death by her elderly grandfather; in a case that horrified the country. Susumu Tomizawa, 88, admitted to killing his granddaughter Tomomi, 16; nearly two years ago in a court in western Japan last month, but said he didn’t remember it.

Read More: Japan nurse who murdered patients gets life sentence: media

Tomizawa suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative; and irreversible neurological ailment that causes neurons to die and brain areas to shrink. His lawyers argued in court that he should not be charged with a crime since his sickness causes dementia; which is characterised by various cognitive deficiencies such as memory loss.

“He pleaded not guilty since he was insane at the time owing to dementia and alcohol consumption,” they added.

Read More: Japan hangs Chinese man over murder case