Post by hi224 on Apr 19, 2021 22:55:04 GMT
In the early hours of September 9, 2004, someone broke into a house in Kutsukake-cho, Toyoake City, Aichi Prefecture, killed a mother and her three children, and then set fire to the building. The murdered were the mother Riyo Kato (38 years old at the time), the eldest son Yuki (15 years old), the eldest daughter Rina (13 years old), and the second son Seigo (9 years old), whose birthday was the same day he was murdered. The father was not at home due to work and was unharmed. When the father called the mother to let her know about overworking around 11:00 p.m. the previous day, there was nothing out of the ordinary at the victim's house.
At around 4:25 a.m., a neighbor called emergency services (the fire was believed to have started after 4 a.m.). At first, it was thought to be a house fire with no incident, but due to the traces of kerosene sprinkled inside the house and traces of damage to the body, the Aichi Prefectural Police immediately switched their investigation to a murder-arson case.
The exact route of entry by the perpetrator is unknown. In addition to the front door and kitchen door (leading to the passage in front of the kitchen and bathroom), all the windows on the first floor were locked (some windows were deformed by the high heat and could not be checked), and the only window of the eldest son's room on the second floor had a screen door, so it was possible to enter through the garage. The key to the kitchen door was hidden in a designated place (a storage room) in the garage (the father had asked the mother to leave it there by mail because he came home late from work), but this key was found in the same place, and it is unclear whether the perpetrator used it to enter or leave the house.
The family had a dog, however the barking of the dog was not heard by the neighbors at the time of the incident (the dog usually barked a lot). The dog's collar was also removed for unknown reasons, and it survived the fire by hiding under a car at the house.
Kerosene was sprayed around a wide area of the victim's house, but there was no kerosene inside the house, and it is believed that the killer brought it there. Burned match scraps and kerosene-soaked newspapers were also found scattered around the victim's house, suggesting that the perpetrator may have set the fire in order to buy time to escape. Also, no blood samples were found around the victim's house (in the yard or on the road where the murderer may have fled), suggesting that the person may have burned the clothes he was wearing at the scene after being exposed to the blood. No other belongings of the murderer have been found.
There was no evidence that the perpetrator had touched any precious metals or bank books. There was no cash in the wallet found in the victim's house, but it's unclear whether the perpetrator had taken it out. There were also reports that cash left over from the fire was found in the house. Because those things were left untouched, the police believed that the incident was committed by someone who had a grudge against one of the family members.
The area around the victim's house was a residential area, but at the time of the incident, there were few streetlights and it was relatively dark at night.
Riyo's older sister, Amami, would express: "It's a lie, no way. Why my sister and her children?"
It was discovered that Seigo wrote a letter for his future self, it was written when he was 6 years old and buried inside a time capsule when he was a senior in kindergarten, one line read "When you grow up, have you become a police officer?". Amami would say about this the following: "I was so moved that I cried. I put the scissors in, opened the package, and when I opened the letter, the first thing I did was to close it as soon as I saw it. A child who was so sweet and never left his mother's side. I was surprised to think that he wanted to work in a job with such a sense of justice."
Details about the Murder
The method of killing differed depending on the gender of the victims. The mother and the daughter died of hemorrhagic and traumatic shock due to stab wounds in more than ten places, including the face and back, by a survival knife with a blade of about 20 centimeters. The stab wounds were about three centimeters wide, but some of the mother's wounds were so deep that the knife reached her lungs, and the eldest daughter's ribs were broken by the impact of the stab wounds.
The eldest son and the youngest son had no stab wounds, instead were found to have head injuries (a few centimeters of sunken fracture) caused by being hit with a blunt metal object (crowbar, etc.), with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage and cerebral contusion being the cause of death, respectively. There was no evidence of repeated beatings.
There was no evidence of resistance (defensive wounds, etc.) on any of the victims bodies, and it is likely that they were attacked while everyone was asleep. Based on the soot in the lungs, it is possible that the four victims were still alive to some extent after the arson. The soot in the lungs suggests that the second son, mother, eldest daughter, and eldest son died in that order, but it is unclear whether the above acts of murder took place in that order.
There are reports that a woman's scream was heard by nearby residents at around 4:00 am. The crime seems to have been committed in a relatively short period of time (about 30 minutes). In addition, the bodies of the mother, eldest son, and eldest daughter found on the second floor were covered with futons when they were discovered (the body of the second son was found in the living room on the first floor).
Extra Details
In late July 2003, around 8:30 p.m. someone tried to forcibly open the front door of the victim's house, most likey they noticed due to a "rattling" sound heard. Then sometime in 2004, a suspicious person was also seen looking at the victim's house, and the family had become more security conscious, paying attention to locking the door.
Local firefighters working to extinguish the fire saw a suspicious van (Toyota Hiace Super GL, green color, Owari Komaki license plate) near the scene, driven by a man in his 30s or 40s. The car could've been from the Komaki Prefecture.
Around 3:40 a.m., shortly before the fire broke out, a light passenger car (bluish body, also with an Owari Komaki license plate) was seen coming out of a side road near the victim's house (about 200 meters) onto the prefectural road. The city of Toyoake, where the incident took place, is a "Nagoya license plate" area.
On March 11, 2005, thes father was arrested on suspicion of fraud in connection with the company he worked for, which was unrelated with this case, and the father himself said at a press conference later that he was interrogated about the incident. He also expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the police's forceful interrogation methods and some media outlets that reported on his family's case as if he was involved in it. Afterwards the father was cleared of any suspicion regarding the case. This case has sadly become a cold case.
This year will be the 17th anniversary of this incident taking place, it's unknown who and why the perpetrator murdered the family and, by the looks of it, seems like those questions will remain unanswered. Despite the scream of a woman being heard, no one seems to know anything, hopefully the case gets solved sometime. What are your thoughts?
Sources (Japanese Only)
Wikipedia
Aichi Prefectural Police site (few detals, includes photo of the house)
Blog about the case with photos
At around 4:25 a.m., a neighbor called emergency services (the fire was believed to have started after 4 a.m.). At first, it was thought to be a house fire with no incident, but due to the traces of kerosene sprinkled inside the house and traces of damage to the body, the Aichi Prefectural Police immediately switched their investigation to a murder-arson case.
The exact route of entry by the perpetrator is unknown. In addition to the front door and kitchen door (leading to the passage in front of the kitchen and bathroom), all the windows on the first floor were locked (some windows were deformed by the high heat and could not be checked), and the only window of the eldest son's room on the second floor had a screen door, so it was possible to enter through the garage. The key to the kitchen door was hidden in a designated place (a storage room) in the garage (the father had asked the mother to leave it there by mail because he came home late from work), but this key was found in the same place, and it is unclear whether the perpetrator used it to enter or leave the house.
The family had a dog, however the barking of the dog was not heard by the neighbors at the time of the incident (the dog usually barked a lot). The dog's collar was also removed for unknown reasons, and it survived the fire by hiding under a car at the house.
Kerosene was sprayed around a wide area of the victim's house, but there was no kerosene inside the house, and it is believed that the killer brought it there. Burned match scraps and kerosene-soaked newspapers were also found scattered around the victim's house, suggesting that the perpetrator may have set the fire in order to buy time to escape. Also, no blood samples were found around the victim's house (in the yard or on the road where the murderer may have fled), suggesting that the person may have burned the clothes he was wearing at the scene after being exposed to the blood. No other belongings of the murderer have been found.
There was no evidence that the perpetrator had touched any precious metals or bank books. There was no cash in the wallet found in the victim's house, but it's unclear whether the perpetrator had taken it out. There were also reports that cash left over from the fire was found in the house. Because those things were left untouched, the police believed that the incident was committed by someone who had a grudge against one of the family members.
The area around the victim's house was a residential area, but at the time of the incident, there were few streetlights and it was relatively dark at night.
Riyo's older sister, Amami, would express: "It's a lie, no way. Why my sister and her children?"
It was discovered that Seigo wrote a letter for his future self, it was written when he was 6 years old and buried inside a time capsule when he was a senior in kindergarten, one line read "When you grow up, have you become a police officer?". Amami would say about this the following: "I was so moved that I cried. I put the scissors in, opened the package, and when I opened the letter, the first thing I did was to close it as soon as I saw it. A child who was so sweet and never left his mother's side. I was surprised to think that he wanted to work in a job with such a sense of justice."
Details about the Murder
The method of killing differed depending on the gender of the victims. The mother and the daughter died of hemorrhagic and traumatic shock due to stab wounds in more than ten places, including the face and back, by a survival knife with a blade of about 20 centimeters. The stab wounds were about three centimeters wide, but some of the mother's wounds were so deep that the knife reached her lungs, and the eldest daughter's ribs were broken by the impact of the stab wounds.
The eldest son and the youngest son had no stab wounds, instead were found to have head injuries (a few centimeters of sunken fracture) caused by being hit with a blunt metal object (crowbar, etc.), with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage and cerebral contusion being the cause of death, respectively. There was no evidence of repeated beatings.
There was no evidence of resistance (defensive wounds, etc.) on any of the victims bodies, and it is likely that they were attacked while everyone was asleep. Based on the soot in the lungs, it is possible that the four victims were still alive to some extent after the arson. The soot in the lungs suggests that the second son, mother, eldest daughter, and eldest son died in that order, but it is unclear whether the above acts of murder took place in that order.
There are reports that a woman's scream was heard by nearby residents at around 4:00 am. The crime seems to have been committed in a relatively short period of time (about 30 minutes). In addition, the bodies of the mother, eldest son, and eldest daughter found on the second floor were covered with futons when they were discovered (the body of the second son was found in the living room on the first floor).
Extra Details
In late July 2003, around 8:30 p.m. someone tried to forcibly open the front door of the victim's house, most likey they noticed due to a "rattling" sound heard. Then sometime in 2004, a suspicious person was also seen looking at the victim's house, and the family had become more security conscious, paying attention to locking the door.
Local firefighters working to extinguish the fire saw a suspicious van (Toyota Hiace Super GL, green color, Owari Komaki license plate) near the scene, driven by a man in his 30s or 40s. The car could've been from the Komaki Prefecture.
Around 3:40 a.m., shortly before the fire broke out, a light passenger car (bluish body, also with an Owari Komaki license plate) was seen coming out of a side road near the victim's house (about 200 meters) onto the prefectural road. The city of Toyoake, where the incident took place, is a "Nagoya license plate" area.
On March 11, 2005, thes father was arrested on suspicion of fraud in connection with the company he worked for, which was unrelated with this case, and the father himself said at a press conference later that he was interrogated about the incident. He also expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the police's forceful interrogation methods and some media outlets that reported on his family's case as if he was involved in it. Afterwards the father was cleared of any suspicion regarding the case. This case has sadly become a cold case.
This year will be the 17th anniversary of this incident taking place, it's unknown who and why the perpetrator murdered the family and, by the looks of it, seems like those questions will remain unanswered. Despite the scream of a woman being heard, no one seems to know anything, hopefully the case gets solved sometime. What are your thoughts?
Sources (Japanese Only)
Wikipedia
Aichi Prefectural Police site (few detals, includes photo of the house)
Blog about the case with photos