People might be "less than perfect witnesses in a criminal investigation", and yet innocent.
Absolutely, I think this is entirely possible. How many times have we seen the police catching someone in a lie and assuming that lie = guilt, when in reality, it merely equals a lie. Nobody is a paragon of absolute truth, so it stands to reason.
- per TMPD, one person was in Miyazawa's house, one person left tons of DNA, one person killed them. TMPD was probably "inexperienced with murders, but willing to learn".
RSBM: I would strongly disagree the TMPD is inexperienced with murders. Of course, the number of cases they receive is far, far lower than a city of such a magnitude anywhere else on earth. But I know these investigators were experienced. I think the key is, inexperienced in
this type of murder. Not that home invasion murders, seemingly for no reason, are common anywhere. I also have a problem with (not that you are doing this but others have) the idea that not clearing a case being a reflection on the work of LE. Just as sometimes a killer will hand themselves in to the police and confess, this wouldn't mean LE have done a bad job. So, I want to stress (as I have many times), I have my questions about certain choices made in this investigation as is natural for anyone undertaking a journalistic investigation of a cold case. But I have utmost respect for the men and women of the TMPD, and specifically, the investigative team at Seijo PD.
I suspect they collected a lot of information and perhaps somehow "drowned" in it, because lack of experience = you can't rely on own intuition.
Yes, I do know that the amount of evidence and the lack of an apparent motive was a problem in the investigation.
At the same time, since they have extended the time of criminal responsibility, their perfectionism will probably serve them and the case well now, if/when they finally get the courage and break through "the DNA barrier." (They have to, in view of new immigration laws, and the sooner, the better for Japan - JMO.)
Given the latest out of the Setagaya Council, this seems possible. Though, as Ryushi says, change is glacial in Japan. Let's hope there's some movement on the DNA front while Setsuko is still with us. [NB: I fully understand DNA concerns in terms of ethics. I also entirely understand the problems inherent in granting yet more powers to one of the most powerful police forces on earth. But in certain limited cases of unsolved murder where all other avenues have been exhausted, I think an exception is valid and just].
- if it was one person and his DNA did not match the ones from the Iries' house, this rules them out as the suspects. Let us accept this.
It is absolutely accepted. They were fingerprinted immediately. They did not match.
- About the rest. Can a person sleep through that night/not hear the murders? It is possible. I have several very trivial explanations and i can accept this. In fact, I would not be surprised if Haruko was the first to get up that morning, either.
It is absolutely possible. This would have been part of those experiments. If it was not possible from the jump, there would have been no need for any experiments.
That morning, though...everywhere, in any country, this family, the neighbors would inevitably end up being high on the suspects list. This is not the situation I wish upon anyone. Let this sink in, too. How they felt the "morning after". Hysterical, grieving and scared.
I have zero reasons to suspect, nor have I heard of a single piece of evidence that supports, that there is a motive to question the 45/50 minute gap between discovery and calling the police. We don't even know if, for example, Haruko was absolutely correct when she said she went to the Miyazawa door at 10am. That could have simply been the last time she checked the time she then lost track of, and went to the door at 10:20am, for example.
Worst of all? IRL, if you sleep through the murders, you can account only for yourself. What about other people in your family? Sadly, you slept through their movements, too.
So...I don't think anyone lied. But i think that everyone, subconsciously or consciously, was protecting other family members. I think they all were finally cleared for a good reason, and felt relieved when it happened, but it took some time to clear them.
And btw, if they don't know who did it, and I think they don't, they might still be living in fear for themselves. What if the killer, indeed, confused the houses?
One more reason for TMPD to do consider DNA criminology.
Yes, absolutely possible. As you know,
@Charlot123, I believe the killer left the country. But that won't exactly be of any relevance or comfort to them. And even if they themselves believe he's gone, imagine the trauma of such a man being that close to you while destroying your kin. The survivor's guilt, and so on. To clarify, which I have done a thousand times, I accuse them of nothing, I say only there are questions still to be answered and things that do not make sense. This is not my opinion, this is how it is. Now, it's entirely possible they have nothing further to answer as far as the TMPD are concerned. If that's so, it was not relayed to me.