Japanese Man Who Killed 19 in Disabled Home Stabbing Spree Sentenced to Death

A Japanese man has been sentenced to death for brutally stabbing 19 residents of a disabled home in 2016.

Satoshi Uematsu, 30, was convicted of the heinous crime and was sentenced to hang by a Yokohama District Court on Monday, CNN and the Associated Press reported.

The killings took place on July 26, 2016 after Uematsu, a former employee at the Yamayuri-en residential center in Tokyo, drove to the care facility armed with a number of knives, BBC reported.

Uematsu forced entry into the center by breaking a window, BBC reported. Once inside, Uematsu began attacking residents while they were asleep in their rooms.

Uematsu killed nine men and 10 women. They ranged in age from 18 to 70, CNN reported. He also injured 26 people.

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Shortly after the attack, Uematsu surrendered to police.

During his trial, Uematsu’s legal team pleaded not guilty, claiming he suffered from mental illness and abused drugs like marijuana, BBC reported.

However, there was no marijuana found in his system after the stabbings.

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Uematsu, who showed no remorse throughout the trial, also hinted at wanting to commit the crime just months before, telling Japan’s parliament in a letter that he would kill 470 disabled people if authorized, BBC reported.

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“I want Japan to be a country where the disabled can be euthanized,” Uematsu said, BBC reported.

Uematsu’s killing spree was one of Japan’s deadliest since the end of World War II.