Japan - Miyazawa family of 4 murdered, Setagaya, Tokyo, 30 Dec 2000 #2

[Charlot123]

Yes, that is my recollection as well. I even think they were in blood and sideways, like the guy was creeping along trying not to be seen. At least that is what I remember.

I think the Japanese police used the term “military walk”, implying how people walk in army barracks in the narrow space, at night

 

[FacelessPodcast]

I think the Japanese police used the term “military walk”, implying how people walk in army barracks in the narrow space, at night

Is this on the Japanese wikipedia page or the TMPD website casefile? I don't think it is. I've read about the 'military walk' thing before but I don't actually know where that comes from. I would be tempted to discard that due to the fact that 1) how does anybody know he moved in such a fashion? And 2) if we take it to mean he stuck to the walls, or stayed low, how does that tally with him walking in the blood all through the house / his general carefree nature? Moreover, if he did enter via Rei's room, it means within 2-3 minutes, he was already fighting with Mikio. What would be the point in a covert movement stance then?

Conversely, speaking of the TMPD website / information appeal flyer, they do specifically appeal for anyone who "heard sounds like a fight" or saw a "suspicious person or car nearby."

The police flyer also asks for anyone with information if they know of: someone who may have moved abruptly around the time of killings or: someone who may have come to Tokyo around the time of killing.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

It would seem that
1) he was looking for something specific
2) he did not know where that something was kept so he went through all papers - so to me, it would seem that it wasn't something belonging to specifically Yasuko's or Mikio's folder. Something that could be placed in either.
3) Mikio, no offense, accumulated papers although he organized them well. Probably he kept papers in folders. So maybe, just maybe, it was something that didn't belong into a folder, and Mikio "hid" it, like people would "hide" by shoving something inside a stack of papers.

The way it looks, the murderer was not going through papers, he was “shaking” them to find that hidden piece. It was something slightly more heavy than a regular paper sheet.

RSBM: All possible. But we just don't know. It's also possible he simply wanted to stage a robbery. Or that he was curious about the people he had just slaughtered. The major problem I have for him looking for an object is that this likely necessitates it being his true goal in some way which, in turn, likely requires a personal relationship with the family. As you know, I doubt there ever was one. Given his actions and lack of apparent connection, I think his objective was the outcome: the murders of the family, and there never was any key object in the house. JMO.

BTW, the fact that Mikio was such a paper hoarder and everything in 2000 had a paper trail, makes me wonder if it was some receipt-related document. I hope that TMPD got the copies of phone statements and computer network carrier statements. The fact that the perp looked through the computer tells, to me, that the documents might be coming both in paper and electronic format, and maybe, not finding it among documents, the perp tried the electronic route.

I wonder if police looked at Mikio’s work office. I know he worked from home, but he could have hidden some papers in office, too.

I am certain they went through his papers and computer, though of course, we can't be sure to what degree. Given they have a state-of-the-art police science campus in Chiba and more money than any other police force on earth, you would imagine that resources were set aside for one of / the major crimes in their recent history.

As for Mikio, he worked from home sometimes but he also worked at the office too. I spoke with the Interbrand CEO who found a handful of employees present in 2000 who knew Mikio. The idea of my interviewing them was entertained but they ultimately declined. "Sorry, they are all very negative to talk about it in the end." Frustrating.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Catching up on recent posts, one question that did cross my mind is what would the killer have done if Yasuko’s sister and brother in-law, two more able-bodied adults, did hear the noise and responded or came over at the time of Mikio’s attack? Would he have bolted? Would he have been able to flee or would he have been trapped?

This is a very important question. I think it ties into the concerns about the noise the killer almost certainly made. How did he know he could make sounds and get away with it? / Once the sounds were made (had he counted on a silent attack), how did he know he didn't have to flee. It's paradoxical on the face of it. Either, he got incredibly lucky, which is true no matter which way you slice it. Or, he simply figured that seeing as no police had showed up after the murders, he was in the clear. Or, he simply wasn't making rational choices due to his mind-frame, his injuries / lack of blood, mental capacity / combination thereof. For him to NOT be confronted, he would require the murder of four human beings to be carried out in silence or the family next door to hear absolutely nothing.

Had he been confronted by, most likely, An Irie's husband, I think it would've been a similar struggle as seen with Mikio. The space is narrow throughout much of the house. My feeling is that he wouldn't have fled, already in so deep.

Why target Rey first when he was asleep and unaware of the killer’s presence? Shouldn’t he have quietly gone to attack one of the parents, such as Mikio who was alone in his office, first since as adults they posed the biggest threat to him? Attacking Rei is what led to Mikio becoming aware of the killer’s presence and perhaps fighting back earlier than the killer expected?

I think the answer is because the killer entered Rei's room first and, seeing him asleep, thought he would kill him first in an attempt to maintain the element of surprise. If he enters through the bathroom window, which as we saw in the reconstruction is both physically far more demanding and quite nosy (requiring a head-first drop into the room), then it makes less sense for him to cross into Rei's room and begin there. If that IS how it went down, then we wonder if Rei was his primary objective. But I can tell you that there has never been anything to substantiate that.

I agree this is most likely the perp’s first kill and perhaps they had an exaggerated perception of their own skills in defense and yielding a knife? The brutal way he attacked this family could indicate rage or perhaps a frenzy because the killer didn’t have the knowledge or skill in terms of the most vulnerable places to attack the human body to debilitate or kill a victim using the fewer strikes. Perhaps he began striking blindly as he became frustrated, overwhelmed and perhaps conflicted with guilt, shame and disgust as he took in the gruesomeness and horror of his crimes?

Yes, all very possible. I would imagine he likely underestimated how difficult it can be to strangle someone to death, even if a child. Assuming these were his first murders which, given his lack of criminal records anywhere and young age is reasonable imo, he was probably going off movies where these deaths occur in seconds. I do think you could be on to something with his bubble bursting in terms of his own self-image. Perhaps he went into that house seeing himself as a sort of ninja figure, a dealer of death. And when he realised the child struggled a lot more than expected, that to sustain pressure on the throat of someone fighting for their lives is not simple, that the situation had got away from him -- it might well have enraged him (further than I believe him to be before the murders).

I do wonder though if this perp has a history of breaking and entering or intruding into other people’s homes? Perhaps this is one of, if not the first, times the residents were present in the home or at least awake during the intrusions? I wonder if he does has a record somewhere or if there is a case in which his B&E was thwarted or he fled because he did not anticipated getting spotted or he was not prepared to fight off others?

This is also entirely possible. I can tell you that the TMPD looked at break-ins (and likely continue to do so) for any trace of him, which makes sense. My feeling is that if he did this, it's unlikely he did it in the local area or I think they would've found that connection. He has no record in Japan and, just my guess, no record in the US. Now, we don't know if he's from either nation so how long is a piece of string etc.

Maybe consuming the tea and ice cream before looking on the computer was his way to self-soothe as he came down from shock or denial or subconsciously began to confront irreversible murders and crimes he just committed?

This is perhaps crass but I went to the funeral of an ex-girlfriend's grandfather years ago. Immediately afterwards, she said she had never felt a stronger need to make love. I found that puzzling at the time but I wonder if there's a similar human instinct to live in the face of death? I myself do not enjoy shooting guns / gun culture but when a European friend came to visit me in Los Angeles, he wanted to go to the gun range. After shooting an AK-47 and feeling nervous doing so, when we walked out, we were both laughing uncontrollably. I think, again, it was an illogical bodily reaction to being close to *something* that could deal death. I'm just riffing here, of course. And it's entirely possible he was filled with fear and regret after the murders. Or satisfaction. Or giddiness. Who knows. But I wonder if, having killed them all, his body was suddenly drained (and losing blood), so he needed *something*. JMO.

I wonder if the killer was lucky or protected, perhaps by family or loved ones, who are also struggling to accept what the perp did? Perhaps they had the means and time to get him out of the country shortly afterwards and in denial never talked about it again afterwards and encouraged the perp not only to never to return back to Japan but maybe avoid discussion of his time there in general?

I would bet heavily that someone very close to him knows or at least suspects him of violent behaviour but says nothing. I too think it's a reasonable guess -- that they had the means to get him away from Tokyo shortly afterwards. I'm not saying they know he's guilty of these murders. Funnily enough, my POI lines up exactly with what you say.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Is this on the Japanese wikipedia page or the TMPD website casefile? I don't think it is. I've read about the 'military walk' thing before but I don't actually know where that comes from. I would be tempted to discard that due to the fact that 1) how does anybody know he moved in such a fashion? And 2) if we take it to mean he stuck to the walls, or stayed low, how does that tally with him walking in the blood all through the house / his general carefree nature? Moreover, if he did enter via Rei's room, it means within 2-3 minutes, he was already fighting with Mikio. What would be the point in a covert movement stance then?

Conversely, speaking of the TMPD website / information appeal flyer, they do specifically appeal for anyone who "heard sounds like a fight" or saw a "suspicious person or car nearby."

The police flyer also asks for anyone with information if they know of: someone who may have moved abruptly around the time of killings or: someone who may have come to Tokyo around the time of killing.

I don't really read other websites regarding this case, so anything I've seen must have been posted here on Websleuths. I do remember reading speculation that the killer "marched" back and forth around Rei's room in a military manner *after* the murders, but I can no longer find where it was discussed.

Being the only room where nobody was stabbed and bleeding, the pattern of the killer's bloody footprints and the spacing of his strides was supposedly notable, like he had spent a lot of time pacing back and forth in Rei's room, away from all the blood. I could easily see the killer doing that. But how you differentiate a "military walk" from simple pacing back and forth, I have no idea.

Maybe it's another example of the exact meaning getting lost in translation.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

I don't really read other websites regarding this case, so anything I've seen must have been posted here on Websleuths. I do remember reading speculation that the killer "marched" back and forth around Rei's room in a military manner *after* the murders, but I can no longer find where it was discussed.

Being the only room where nobody was stabbed and bleeding, the pattern of the killer's bloody footprints and the spacing of his strides was supposedly notable, like he had spent a lot of time pacing back and forth in Rei's room, away from all the blood. I could easily see the killer doing that. But how you differentiate a "military walk" from simple pacing back and forth, I have no idea.

Maybe it's another example of the exact meaning getting lost in translation.

Yes, I’ve definitely read about it in a few places. Like so much in this case, my guess would be someone’s speculation or rumour metastasised into fact over time.

Rei’s room had the largest concentration of his footsteps, he tracked a lot of blood in there — so as you say, even if ‘military walking’ was a thing, I would assume that concentration would make it even harder to determine, not easier?

 

[FacelessPodcast]

I don't really read other websites regarding this case, so anything I've seen must have been posted here on Websleuths. I do remember reading speculation that the killer "marched" back and forth around Rei's room in a military manner *after* the murders, but I can no longer find where it was discussed.

Being the only room where nobody was stabbed and bleeding, the pattern of the killer's bloody footprints and the spacing of his strides was supposedly notable, like he had spent a lot of time pacing back and forth in Rei's room, away from all the blood. I could easily see the killer doing that. But how you differentiate a "military walk" from simple pacing back and forth, I have no idea.

Maybe it's another example of the exact meaning getting lost in translation.

At any rate, we know the TMPD think he’s young on the night of the murders, maybe even 15. We know they think he was likely a student. That doesn’t jive easily with the idea of a military man, ignoring everything else.

 

[Justoneoftheguests]

Rei’s room had the largest concentration of his footsteps, he tracked a lot of blood in there — so as you say, even if ‘military walking’ was a thing, I would assume that concentration would make it even harder to determine, not easier?

This seems strange in itself. He killed Rei first and would not have had any blood on him at that time, why then does Rei’s room have the largest concentration of footsteps and tracked blood in there? Why did he go back repeatedly after killing everyone else?

I’m assuming Rei’s room is not a thoroughfare (although I can’t recall the layout right now), so what caused him to go back there repeatedly. Was there something particular about Rei/his room? He killed him in a different manner to the others and then seemingly went back to his room to do a disproportionate amount of wandering around after the other murders?

 

[FacelessPodcast]

This seems strange in itself. He killed Rei first and would not have had any blood on him at that time, why then does Rei’s room have the largest concentration of footsteps and tracked blood in there? Why did he go back repeatedly after killing everyone else?

I’m assuming Rei’s room is not a thoroughfare (although I can’t recall the layout right now), so what caused him to go back there repeatedly. Was there something particular about Rei/his room? He killed him in a different manner to the others and then seemingly went back to his room to do a disproportionate amount of wandering around after the other murders?

My suspicion is that 1) it was how he entered the house in the first place, through the balcony that gives into the kiddies' room. And 2) it looks on to the street. It could well be as he was tracking through the house, he was stopping to check out of the window, just to ensure that all was quiet. I have no idea, that's just my best guess. Plenty have speculated that Rei was the "true objective" of the killer but, to my mind, this could be argued in any number of ways. I think the most logical explanation is that Rei dies first because it's both the first person the killer encounters and he dies by manual strangulation because the element of surprise is being maintained for as long as possible. All JMO.

 

[Charlot123]

today I woke up to Google “the Burning Man”. To my surprise, I found out that it was “in” as early as the 80es, maybe it is a West coast thing a that time. But it is worldwide known today. I never heard about big time skateboarding festivals in CA, or maybe I don’t see the perp as a skateboarder. However, Black Desert is not horribly far from far from Edwards airbase, Reno to LA, neighboring states. For some reason, I can see the perp participating in the Burning Man.
Using the same analogy, the Miyra sand… do they have only skateboard festivals there or others, too?

Could inter-brand devise the now-famous logo for the Burning Man LLC, and the previous ones?

ETA: here is all I could get about Miura coast

7 Reasons You'll Want to Visit Japan's Miura Beach - Tokyo's Closest Seaside Resort! | LIVE JAPAN travel guide

The Miura Peninsula is only about 60 ~ 70 km from the central part of Tokyo and can be reached in about an hour to an hour and a half. Here you can eat fresh seafood at reasonable prices and enjoy the rich natural environment in perhaps the closest resort area to Tokyo. In this article, we...

livejapan.com

Does anyone local know what “gatherings” it is famous for? I found a naval base there but that’s all. Am I barking at the wrong tree, or are there indeed some major festivals there or nearby?

 

[dotr]

Japan Festivals - December

Japanese Festivals December. See a list of the main festivals in Japan in December.

www.japan-experience.com

Lengthy, lots of photos, possible repost, rbbm.

The faceless killer who slaughtered an entire family and then vanished for two decades

First he murdered the Miyazawa family. Then he spent half a day eating their food, browsing their internet search history, and napping on their couch. Why can't Japanese police find the killer?

www.abc.net.au

By North Asia correspondent Jake Sturmer and Yumi Asada in Setagaya 28 Dec 2019
''The end of the year is one of the most momentous occasions in Japan, a chance to celebrate a fresh start and welcome new beginnings.
It was a frosty winter's night in Setagaya, Tokyo when eight-year-old Niina, her younger brother Rei and their parents Mikio and Yasuko were at home, preparing for the festivities.
But the Miyazawa family would never celebrate that day.''

''Police believe the attacker continued to stab Niina and Yasuko far beyond the point at which they had died.''
It's a question still seared in the mind of 72-year-old Takeshi Tsuchida.

The now-retired police chief played an integral role in the case — and cannot let it go.

An officer for 41 years, he rose to the ranks of chief officer at the Seijyo Police station, the force tasked with investigating the family's murder.

The facial expressions from the bodies he inspected still remain seared into his memory.

"When you compare victims who die from illness or natural causes to those who are suddenly murdered, they look very different," he said.
"They have furious facial expressions. They are mortified and regretful. I imagine that all of the victims felt the same way, just feeling regret."
"When I think about the brutality in the way he murdered the four, I just wonder, how could a sane person carry out such an extreme crime?" he said.

"He slashed them from above the chest to the face as if he tormented them. It was extremely brutal.

"And the way he finished them off in the very end … [it was so horrific] we couldn't show those scars to the devastated victims' families. There are no other cases in which the victims have been cut up like this," he said.''

 

[WhoDisDoe]

today I woke up to Google “the Burning Man”. To my surprise, I found out that it was “in” as early as the 80es, maybe it is a West coast thing a that time. But it is worldwide known today. I never heard about big time skateboarding festivals in CA, or maybe I don’t see the perp as a skateboarder. However, Black Desert is not horribly far from far from Edwards airbase, Reno to LA, neighboring states. For some reason, I can see the perp participating in the Burning Man.
Using the same analogy, the Miyra sand… do they have only skateboard festivals there or others, too?

Could inter-brand devise the now-famous logo for the Burning Man LLC, and the previous ones?

ETA: here is all I could get about Miura coast

7 Reasons You'll Want to Visit Japan's Miura Beach - Tokyo's Closest Seaside Resort! | LIVE JAPAN travel guide

The Miura Peninsula is only about 60 ~ 70 km from the central part of Tokyo and can be reached in about an hour to an hour and a half. Here you can eat fresh seafood at reasonable prices and enjoy the rich natural environment in perhaps the closest resort area to Tokyo. In this article, we...

livejapan.com

Does anyone local know what “gatherings” it is famous for? I found a naval base there but that’s all. Am I barking at the wrong tree, or are there indeed some major festivals there or nearby?

FWIW the sand in Black Rock Desert is an extremely fine alkaline dust that gets in absolutely every nook and cranny and is very difficult to wash off. And Black Rock Desert is located in northern NV, several hours north of Reno; pretty far from where I thought the sand had been geo-located (southern NV / CA / AZ).

Given the bits of info I’ve heard about the sand found in the bag, IMO it’s unlikely to be from Burning Man. Besides, Vegas (in southern NV) is probably a bigger international draw.

But to be honest I don’t know many details about this case, and some connection to Burning Man is not a bad theory. Especially given the presumed demographics of the murderer.

 

[Charlot123]

FWIW the sand in Black Rock Desert is an extremely fine alkaline dust that gets in absolutely every nook and cranny and is very difficult to wash off. And Black Rock Desert is located in northern NV, several hours north of Reno; pretty far from where I thought the sand had been geo-located (southern NV / CA / AZ).

Given the bits of info I’ve heard about the sand found in the bag, IMO it’s unlikely to be from Burning Man. Besides, Vegas (in southern NV) is probably a bigger international draw.

But to be honest I don’t know many details about this case, and some connection to Burning Man is not a bad theory. Especially given the presumed demographics of the murderer.

The idea of the perpetrator attending some skateboarding festivals in CA and some in Miura peninsula was not mine. It was that of TMPD. But I don't feel that skateboarding was his main interest. I don't think he got the sand from the Black desert. I just thought he went to the Burning Man and also, to some youth get-together in Miura. I just didn't find any in Google, but maybe there are?

The murderer fits in by camouflaging. But when no one observes him, he does impulsive, bizarre stuff. This is why I think, a good Christian boy who'd attend the Burning Man, and maybe something similar in Miura. My question was, is there something similar in Miura where the perp could "be himself"?

 

[Charlot123]

@FacelessPodcast, and whoever else may be in the know.

Yesterday I realized that I probably was looking through the retelling of the same story in different sites, and tried a different browser. In my mother tongue - and it was basically, the same, except for one thing that I never read anywhere else. (Did they misinterpret the info, or could it be true?)

- in short, several people wrote that by the analysis of the fecal material, the perpetrator was probably a vegetarian.

Now, a vegetarian is not just what he ate for the last meal. All components of the stool are different. It could be probably seen in strict religious observers during fasting, too, but Christmas is not Lent.

Did anyone ever read that the perpetrator could be a vegetarian? That changes a lot.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

today I woke up to Google “the Burning Man”. To my surprise, I found out that it was “in” as early as the 80es, maybe it is a West coast thing a that time. But it is worldwide known today. I never heard about big time skateboarding festivals in CA, or maybe I don’t see the perp as a skateboarder. However, Black Desert is not horribly far from far from Edwards airbase, Reno to LA, neighboring states. For some reason, I can see the perp participating in the Burning Man.
Using the same analogy, the Miyra sand… do they have only skateboard festivals there or others, too?

California is seen as the birthplace of skating, it's heavily tied together with surfers, the 1950s etc. There are competitions / festivals throughout the year in CA, including X Games in Ventura (roughly a 2-hour drive from Edwards AFB). RE: Burning Man, your guess is as good as mine. There's nothing in the evidence to me that points to any of the above. The sand from Edwards, if it is indeed from Edwards, is almost certainly going to have nothing to do with skating, though. There is nothing around Edwards (for obvious reasons).

Could inter-brand devise the now-famous logo for the Burning Man LLC, and the previous ones?

ETA: here is all I could get about Miura coast

7 Reasons You'll Want to Visit Japan's Miura Beach - Tokyo's Closest Seaside Resort! | LIVE JAPAN travel guide

The Miura Peninsula is only about 60 ~ 70 km from the central part of Tokyo and can be reached in about an hour to an hour and a half. Here you can eat fresh seafood at reasonable prices and enjoy the rich natural environment in perhaps the closest resort area to Tokyo. In this article, we...

livejapan.com

Does anyone local know what “gatherings” it is famous for? I found a naval base there but that’s all. Am I barking at the wrong tree, or are there indeed some major festivals there or nearby?

I've found nothing on a skate tournament or festival around Miura from the late 90s. That's not to say it didn't exist. I know for a fact that the skateboarding subculture was present in Japan at the time. But clearly it was a lot more underground than it is today. Today there are any number of tournaments etc in Japan (though none seem to go back to 2000 from my brief google).

 

[FacelessPodcast]

FWIW the sand in Black Rock Desert is an extremely fine alkaline dust that gets in absolutely every nook and cranny and is very difficult to wash off. And Black Rock Desert is located in northern NV, several hours north of Reno; pretty far from where I thought the sand had been geo-located (southern NV / CA / AZ).

Given the bits of info I’ve heard about the sand found in the bag, IMO it’s unlikely to be from Burning Man. Besides, Vegas (in southern NV) is probably a bigger international draw.

But to be honest I don’t know many details about this case, and some connection to Burning Man is not a bad theory. Especially given the presumed demographics of the murderer.

The sand was picked up around Edwards AFB, as far as I know. There is nothing around there to draw tourists . That's not to talk down to Kern County, it's just not laid out for that. The problem is, assuming the sand being from Edwards AFB is right, it's not laid out for anyone. It's restricted space. So, unless you have clearance to be there; USAF personnel, contractor, or familial dependents, it makes little sense. And if you're not infringing on the AFB territory, walking outside the perimeter, you're basically just in the open desert around a military base (even then, I think they might send out a car to check on your reason for being there).

Is it conceivable that the killer had some reason to be in that featureless nothing without a military connection? Absolutely. He could've been quad-biking. He could've been hiding out. Flying a kite. Any number of things. But on balance, I think it's more likely he had a reason to be on base and picked up the sand through regular movements.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

The idea of the perpetrator attending some skateboarding festivals in CA and some in Miura peninsula was not mine. It was that of TMPD.

Officially, they only mention it to appeal for witnesses. Were you skating in the park the night of the murders? Now, in reality, we know for a fact that they have investigated and likely continue to investigate, skateboarders. From the nature of the questions and the demeanour of the detectives doing this, the skaters I interviewed said the same thing -- it didn't particularly seem like their hearts was this in line of enquiry. That's anecdotal and JMO, ofc.

But I don't feel that skateboarding was his main interest. I don't think he got the sand from the Black desert. I just thought he went to the Burning Man and also, to some youth get-together in Miura. I just didn't find any in Google, but maybe there are?

The murderer fits in by camouflaging. But when no one observes him, he does impulsive, bizarre stuff. This is why I think, a good Christian boy who'd attend the Burning Man, and maybe something similar in Miura. My question was, is there something similar in Miura where the perp could "be himself"?

The sand was likely from Mabori Beach or nearby. My view: if it's likely he was at one US military base, why not the other that's super close to Mabori -- Yokosuka?

 

[FacelessPodcast]

@FacelessPodcast, and whoever else may be in the know.

Yesterday I realized that I probably was looking through the retelling of the same story in different sites, and tried a different browser. In my mother tongue - and it was basically, the same, except for one thing that I never read anywhere else. (Did they misinterpret the info, or could it be true?)

- in short, several people wrote that by the analysis of the fecal material, the perpetrator was probably a vegetarian.

Now, a vegetarian is not just what he ate for the last meal. All components of the stool are different. It could be probably seen in strict religious observers during fasting, too, but Christmas is not Lent.

Did anyone ever read that the perpetrator could be a vegetarian? That changes a lot.

Is it possible to differentiate a vegetarian from an omnivore from their faecal matter alone? I'm assuming there are common differences but on a single sample, could the police tell this much in the year 2000?

At any rate, I think this is simply a mistranslation or a fabrication. Officially, the TMPD say nothing about what he eats or leaves in the toilet in their website / information appeal.

 

[Charlot123]

Officially, they only mention it to appeal for witnesses. Were you skating in the park the night of the murders? Now, in reality, we know for a fact that they have investigated and likely continue to investigate, skateboarders. From the nature of the questions and the demeanour of the detectives doing this, the skaters I interviewed said the same thing -- it didn't particularly seem like their hearts was this in line of enquiry. That's anecdotal and JMO, ofc.

The sand was likely from Mabori Beach or nearby. My view: if it's likely he was at one US military base, why not the other that's super close to Mabori -- Yokosuka?

I was thinking about it as well.

 

[Charlot123]

Is it possible to differentiate a vegetarian from an omnivore from their faecal matter alone? I'm assuming there are common differences but on a single sample, could the police tell this much in the year 2000?

At any rate, I think this is simply a mistranslation or a fabrication. Officially, the TMPD say nothing about what he eats or leaves in the toilet in their website / information appeal.

It is possible to differentiate vegans/nonvegans being based on stool, even their gut microbiomes might differ, but you are right that the science behind it is way more advanced now. (Too sad, I hoped we’d have one more trait of the perpetrator known to us.)