Mom Ignores Dead Baby For Full Day While Chatting on Web, Says Raising Kids is Too Much Hassle

A Japanese mom left her baby unattended to die in a crib, not noticing his eventual death for at least full day due to her web-chatting habit, local media reports.

The Japanese mother, 29-year-old Yumiko Takahashi, had already lost two children to an accident and to an illness, said she last saw 19-month-old son Neo alive some time on June 24th of last year. Neo had been running a fever, and Takahashi put the boy down in his crib. Eventually, postmortem examinations revealed that Neo passed away from unreported causes at around 2PM the same day.

But Neo’s death went unnoticed by Takahashi until, unbelievably, June 26th — and police say the delay, during which time the baby was presumably not changed, offered food or drink, was at least 24 hours, perhaps more. On the 26th, the young mother discovered the baby dead in his crib. (A far less violent scenario than the American mom who shook her child to death for interrupting her FarmVille game.)

According to authorities, Takahashi’s first child perished within the first few days of his life due to an illness. Her second child, also a boy, plummeted to his death from an apartment balcony to his death. After the death of Neo, Takahashi was arrested by local police in Otsu, western Japan. She was charged with suspicion of child neglect and causing death.

Between June 24th and June 26th, Takahashi told police she spent time using internet forums and chatting as her baby lay dead in his crib. Reportedly, she told police:

“I have sought solace in chatting on the Internet to get connected to other people for three years since I got depressed for losing my son in an accident… Child raising is too much hassle.”

Police say that the year-long lag between Neo’s death and Takahashi’s arrest was due to the subsequent investigation.