India, Jan. 29 -- Shinji Aoba, the man facing legal ire in connection to the fatal 2019 arson attack on Japanese animation studio and light novel publisher Kyoto Animation (KyoAni), has withdrawn the appeal to his death penalty. On Tuesday, the Osaka High Court announced the latest development in the arson case that killed 36 people and wounded 32 others. Consequently, the withdrawn appeal has concluded the trial and finalised the suspect's death sentence after last year's guilty verdict.

The Kyoto District Court declared Aoba guilty on January 25, 2024. In response to the verdict, his legal team filed an appeal the following day. The long-running arson murder case dates back to the July 18, 2019, incident when fire broke out at Kyoto An...