Woman Sentenced to Death for Ordering the Murder of Her Japanese Husband

BANGKOK – A Criminal Court on Monday sentenced a Thai woman to death over the murder of her 84 year-old elderly Japanese husband.

Poranee Napadol, was arrested in October 2015 after her brother-in-law told police he had murdered her Japanese husband Kazuo Yoshioka, 84, at her request.

She was initially acquitted by the Provincial Court in 2016 for lack of evidence. The Appeals Court upheld the initial verdict, according to the Bangkok Post.

The prosecution appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, arguing she was the mastermind behind her Japanese husband’s murder.

“The court believed Poranee was the key person who commanded her brother-in-law to kill her own husband.

She still continued to pleaded her innocence to the murder despite the overwhelming evidence.

Mr. Yoshioka, was a retired businessman from Japan’s Hyogo prefecture. On Oct 13, 2015, he was found with his throat slit at the house that he shared with Poranee.

Sampan, who is married to Poranee’s younger sister, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2016.