Hyogo Prefectural Police headquarters (Mainichi/Takuya Kurozume)

       HIMEJI, Hyogo -- A 50-year-old grandmother suspected of murdering her grandson, 2, in a local pond has been arrested by Hyogo Prefectural Police on Aug. 16.

       Suspect Eriko Kimoto has reportedly admitted to the allegations, and was described as telling police: "I did it all on my own." Prefectural police believe the suspect attempted to kill herself after taking her grandson's life.

       Kimoto stands accused of murdering Reo Taguchi between the night of July 21 and the morning of July 22 in areas including Goshoga Pond in the Kurodani neighborhood of the prefectural city of Kato.

       According to the prefectural police, Reo had been living separately from his parents since around April, and resided with his grandfather and Kimoto in Kato's Hiraki neighborhood.

       Prefectural police searched for the pair, who went missing on the evening of July 21 after Kimoto picked her grandson up from a day care center. At around 9 a.m. on July 22, police found her knee-deep in the shallows of a pond and with Reo in her arms. The infant was confirmed dead at the scene. Autopsy results indicate he drowned.

       (Japanese original by Nao Goto, Himeji Bureau)

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