Ex-Nurse Held over 2016 Fatal Hospital Poisoning

July 8, 2018

Yokohama- Police on Saturday arrested a former nurse at a hospital in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on suspicion of poisoning an inpatient to death in September 2016.

The suspect, Ayumi Kuboki, 31, admitted to the allegations. The Kanagawa prefectural police also suspect that she may be involved in the fatal poisoning of another inpatient at the hospital, then called Oguchi Hospital, in the same month.

According to the arrest warrant, Kuboki killed Sozo Nishikawa, then 88, by infusing harmful substance into an intravenous drip bag on the afternoon of Sept. 18, 2016.

The poisoning came to light after the death of another inpatient Nobuo Yamaki, then 88, two days later. The two patients occupied the same room at the hospital.

The hospital reported to police after seeing suspicious bubbles inside Yamaki's drip bag. Later, substance included in a surfactant that is used in antiseptic solutions was found in his body and drip.

At first, Nishikawa was thought to have died of disease. But similar substance was found also in his body, prompting the police to investigate the two deaths as a serial murder case. Jiji Press