Chiba Tainted-IV Murder Suspect Seen Entering Patient's Room

Kashiwa, Chiba Pref., July 17 (Jiji Press)--A former nurse arrested for allegedly killing a patient at a hospital in Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan, by mixing feces into his intravenous drip had been seen entering the patient's room several times shortly before the incident, according to hospital officials.

The 51-year-old former nurse, Miyuki Furukawa, was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of murdering the male patient in the early hours of Jan. 30. She is said to have denied the allegations. The prefectural police are investigating how feces came to be mixed into the extension tube of the intravenous drip.

The suspect searched on her smartphone whether a feces injection could kill people, according to investigative sources.

At a press conference on Thursday, Tomonobu Hasegawa, director of Kashiwa Tanaka Hospital, said, "We deeply apologize" over the murder. "We will thoroughly educate all employees on ethics again," he added.

According to the hospital in the city of Kashiwa, an assistant nurse who worked the night shift with the suspect saw her several times entering and leaving the hospital room of Eiji Aita, 75, who later died.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]