TOTTORI- A man indicted for allegedly murdering and robbing an accounting firm president and his live-in partner admitted killing the couple, but denied planning to rob them, in the first hearing of the lay judge case held Tuesday at the Tottori District Court.

The punishment for murder-robbery is death or life in prison. Since more than one person was killed in the case, prosecutors may demand the death penalty.

Hideo Ishitani, the 82-year-old president of an accounting office in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, and his 74-year-old partner were killed last February.

In the opening statement, prosecutors said Hiroshi Kageyama, 55, who was in charge of accounting at Ishitani's office, had been struggling to repay debts resulting from the expense of running the office.

The prosecutors added that Ishitani had taken a large amount of money from the firm for his personal use.

They said Kageyama, who nursed a grudge against his boss, had prepared a weapon with which to rob him of the money so Kageyama could repay the debt.

The prosecutors also said Kageyama felt he had no choice but to kill Ishitani's partner in order to get the bankbook kept at Ishitani's home.

Kageyama concealed the victims' bodies inside the building where he murdered them.

The defense counsel claimed Kageyama had begun to think his life would be better if Ishitani and his partner disappeared because the partner had ordered him to do errands that had nothing to do with his job.

"Kageyama didn't commit the crime for the money. He wanted to end his relationship [with Ishitani and Ishitani's partner]," the defense lawyers said.

Six lay judges participated in the hearing. A person close to one of the victims also participated under a system in which such people express their opinions regarding sentencing.

Since the nation's first lay judge trial at the Tokyo District Court in August, rulings have been given under the system in more than 250 cases.

Many of these were assault and burglary cases or violations of the Stimulant Drugs Control Law. The Tottori case is the third murder-robbery case tried under the lay judge system.

A man was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing one person in the first murder-robbery case ruling in September at the Wakayama District Court, as was demanded by prosecutors.

The second murder-robbery case began at the Saga District Court on Monday for a man indicted on suspicion of killing one person.

Prior to the beginning of Tuesday's trial at about 10 a.m., 848 people lined up in front of the courthouse.

Dressed in a suit, Kageyama apologized to the victims, saying: "I'm very sorry. I'll seriously accept the ruling handed down in my trial."

However, he insisted he did not kill the couple to rob them.

The prosecutors explained the background of the crime, saying Ishitani's accounting office was in a desperate financial situation.

Hidekazu Maruyama, head of the Tottori District Public Prosecutors Office's Yonago branch, said Kageyama repeatedly borrowed money to raise funds for the firm.