OREANDA-NEWS. A district court in the Japanese city of Yokohama has sentenced to life imprisonment a 34-year-old former nurse Ayumi Kuboki, who was found guilty of the premeditated murder of three elderly patients at a local hospital. Kyodo news agency reported, citing the court ruling.

The indictment reads, Kuboki deliberately poured antiseptic solution into the drips of three patients - Sozo Nishikawa, 88, Asae Okitsu, 78, and Nobuo Yamaki, 88 - and thus killed them.

Kyodo points out that the prosecutor's office was seeking the death penalty for the former nurse. According to the agency, an examination showed Kuboki to be competent, despite the fact that she exhibited "traits of autism spectrum disorder".

Kuboka's defence, for its part, insisted on a life sentence, arguing that the former nurse had limited legal capacity at the time of the crimes and suffered from schizophrenia.

Japanese police have been investigating the murders of patients at Oguchi Hospital since 2016. At the time, Kuboki was a witness in the case, but was not apprehended until 2018.

During the trial, Kuboki pleaded guilty in full and repeatedly said she was ready for the death penalty. Her lawyers argued that the defendant was insane, but the court rejected this argument. At the same time, the jury considered the former nurse's remorse and pointed to the likelihood of her "moral regeneration" in reaching a verdict.