Mom kills her two kids with a meat cleaver, AZ officials say. She gets prison
A mom accused of killing her two elementary school-aged children with a meat cleaver is heading to prison for life, prosecutors in Arizona said.
Yui Inoue, 44, was ordered to serve two consecutive natural life sentences in the 2021 deaths of her son and daughter, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said in a May 2 news release.
McClatchy News reached out to her attorney May 6 and was awaiting a response.
The killings came after Inoue’s ex-husband made a report of a domestic dispute, prosecutors said. The former couple were recently divorced, and they “were arguing about money ahead of Inoue’s move to Japan,” prosecutors said.
The ex “left the apartment after (Inoue) became aggressive and used a meat cleaver to destroy his computer and other electronics,” according to prosecutors.
Police “saw both children alive and sleeping” when they responded, prosecutors said.
But later, Inoue held down her kids and “delivered dozens of blows with the meat cleaver,” according to prosecutors.
Her daughter was 9 and her son was 7, prosecutors said.
They attended an elementary school in Chandler, McClatchy News previously reported.
After the killings, Inoue cleaned herself up, grabbed her passport, jewelry and money, and “threw trash, boxes, a mattress and other items” on her kids’ bodies before leaving, prosecutors said.
She went to a police station in Tempe, where she “told an officer she heard voices telling her that she killed her kids, and she saw some blood,” prosecutors said.
Police went to her apartment and discovered the kids, according to prosecutors.
“This woman will spend the rest of her days in prison, which is where she should be,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in the news release.
The life sentences came after a jury found Inoue guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of child abuse and one count of disorderly conduct, prosecutors said.
She was also sentenced to 35 years, to be served consecutive to the life sentences, in connection with the child abuse and disorderly conduct charges, according to prosecutors.
This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Mom kills her two kids with a meat cleaver, AZ officials say. She gets prison."
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