Trial begins for Tempe mother accused of murdering 2 kids

TEMPE, Ariz. — Trial proceedings are underway in the criminal case against an East Valley woman accused of murdering her two children in 2021. 

Opening statements were delivered Monday in the murder trial for Yui Inoue, who has been charged with killing her son and daughter at the family’s Tempe apartment on May 15, 2021.

Inoue has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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Prosecutors said Inoue was “motivated by anger” against her husband since the couple was in the process of separating and the defendant was about to return to Japan.

The “horrific” incident began when the defendant demanded her husband pay her money he promised to pay as part of their separation. When the husband left the apartment, Tempe police were called and made contact with Inoue at the residence. 

The children were observed sleeping peacefully and officers found damaged computer equipment in the apartment, prosecutors said.

Police would have contact with Inoue again a short time later. When they re-entered the apartment, they found the children deceased and buried underneath boxes.

The victims, 9-year-old Mia and 7-year-old Kai, both sustained extensive injuries to their necks and heads. The number of injuries each child sustained was “too many to count,” prosecutors said.

A cleaver-style knife and bloody clothing were allegedly found in the defendant’s car during the investigation, prosecutors said.

12News previously reported that Inoue told police that voices told her to kill her children. She said she went to bed with her kids and woke up to see blood, but told police she didn’t remember hurting them.

As for her history in Arizona, Chandler Police said Yui Inoue was connected to an incident back in March 2021 in which charges for aggravated assault on an officer were submitted to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.  

12News previously reported that DCS was also investigating Yui Inoue for alleged neglect after police say Yui Inoue disappeared with her son Kai before the pair was found and Kai was returned to his father.

DCS said in that investigation it did not find evidence to remove the children from the home, but the investigation was still open at the time of the deaths.

Throughout the investigation, questions were raised about Inoue’s mental health, but a judge ruled that that topic couldn’t be brought up at trial.

Inoue’s defense attorney told jurors that there are two sides to every story and encouraged them to look at the evidence and listen closely to witness testimony.

Yui Inoue was actually not in the courtroom for opening statements and the testimony of the state’s first witness, her now ex-husband.  She waived her right to be in the courtroom this morning because she did not want to be on camera.

The trial is expected to take at least two weeks.  

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