Former resident of Kitakyushu apartment arson murder case pleads not guilty, saying ``I had nothing to do with it'' at first trial

The first jury trial of Koji Inoue (58), a former resident of Kitakyushu City who was charged with arson and murder in an apartment fire that killed six residents in May 2017, was held at the Kokura Branch of the Fukuoka District Court (presiding judge Junpei Miyoshi) on the 5th.The defendant stated, ``I have nothing to do with it,'' and maintained his innocence.

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The prosecution applied the murder charge on the basis that there was an ``unnecessary intent'' that did not concern the person's death. The case has been heard a total of 18 times as of December 3, and the verdict will be handed down on January 14 next year.

According to Fukuoka Prefectural Police, Inoue had lived in the apartment for one month about a year before the fire. A person very similar to the fire was seen on security cameras in the area before and after the fire broke out.

According to the indictment, Inoue entered a two-story wooden apartment building in Shimizu, Kokura Kita Ward, from around 11:10 p.m. on May 7, 2017, through an unlocked first-floor doorway with the purpose of arson. Knowing that the residents might die, he set fire to the area in front of the toilet on the first floor with something like a gas torch, killing six men between the ages of 55 and 84, and seriously injuring five of the eight people who escaped.