Elderly man in Taiwan slashes daughter-in-law’s head 40 times with sashimi knife, nearly severs neck
An elderly man in Taiwan has been arrested for allegedly stabbing his daughter-in-law to death using a sashimi knife after a disagreement.
According to Taiwanese news outlet SETN, the incident happened at the stairwell of an apartment building in Zhonghe District, New Taipei City, on July 26.
Police said the 66-year-old father-in-law had a long-standing disagreement with his 34-year-old daughter-in-law over childcare and family matters.
Surveillance footage showed the woman arriving on an electric scooter that evening wearing a white T-shirt, dark trousers, and a white helmet before following her father-in-law inside.
The pair allegedly got into an argument in the ground-floor stairwell, which escalated into the father-in-law attacking her with a sashimi knife, repeatedly slashing her head and neck about 30 to 40 times.
Victim endured abuse from husband and father-in-law
According to the victim’s friend, she worked as a manager of a convenience store, where she met her husband after he joined as a new employee. The couple married about three to four years before the fatal incident.
Although they appeared affectionate in public, the friend alleged that the husband struggled to control his emotions. After moving to another city for work, he allegedly had an extramarital affair and refused to pay NT$5,000 (S$200) a month for their child’s expenses.
The friend also claimed that the victim was accused of “having another man” when she returned home late from work, after asking her in-laws to look after her daughter.
In the victim’s Threads posts in January, she wrote: “Never live with someone who lacks empathy. You’ll end up with high blood pressure and heart disease sooner or later.”
In a 2025 post, she reportedly wrote that her husband had seen their daughter only twice in six months, with each visit lasting just one to two hours.
Left to raise child single-handedly
Speaking out after the incident, the woman’s younger brother told ETtoday that she had endured years of mistreatment by her husband’s family.
He also alleged that her father-in-law frequently demanded money from her and verbally abused her.
Without her husband’s support, she was reportedly left to raise their four-year-old daughter single-handedly and even took on two jobs to support the family financially.
She later moved to her own family’s home, with her parents stepping in to care for their granddaughter. The victim would only arrange for her in-laws to take care of her daughter when her own parents are unavailable.
Despite this, the father-in-law allegedly continued publicly shaming her, which prompted her to discuss divorce with her husband.
It was understood that the victim was picking up her daughter from her in-laws apartment when the tragedy happened.
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
