An Arizona mother has been sentenced to life in prison after brutally murdering her two young children with a meat cleaver "designed to cut the bones of animals."
Yui Inoue, 44, was convicted for the 2021 murder of her children, aged 9 and 7, in February. Though a Japanese interpreter, Inoue told the court she believed her children were still alive and that they were staying with her parents, reported AZFamily.
"They are spending time with my parents," Inoue, who previously lived in Tempe, reportedly stated. "I love my children very much so it's very strange. My children are with my parents."
"Mia and Kai Inoue were sleeping soundly in their beds when their own mother came into their bedroom holding a knife. A meat cleaver, that is literally designed to cut the bones of animals. And she attacked them with it," prosecutors said during closing arguments. "She had to think. She had to act. And there's nothing unclear or speculative about any of that"
Inoue was found guilty of two counts of murder in relation to the incident and two counts of child abuse pertaining to a previous investigation conducted by the Arizona Department of Child Safety by a Maricopa County jury.
"[S]he was hearing voices telling her to kill her children," charging documents said. Inoue confessed to the murders, calling 911 afterward and even going to summon officers from a police substation on East Apache Boulevard near Arizona State University.
Inoue told police that she woke up at 4:30 am to find blood on her hands, then also finding her children both covered in blood. She took a bath and realized what she had done, after which she contacted law enforcement.
"We are here because this woman tried to decapitate two souls," said Maricopa County prosecutor Shaylee Beasley, according to the Arizona Republic.
Inoue was sentenced to serve two consecutive life sentences on Friday.
