Japan - Miyazawa family of 4 murdered, Setagaya, Tokyo, 30 Dec 2000 #3

[BatataPoha]

So my feeling is: the perpetrator entered via the front door. DNA in the slippers means that he took off the sneakers in a Japanese way. He brought the knife - meaning that he planned to kill if necessary but initially, he was polite.

Then there was an argument. What he wanted is unclear, but probably the witnesses would hear an accent?

He killed Mikio. Honestly, not sure whether Rei was the first or the last, but the attacker assaulted the women. It is not yet clear to me whether Yasuko started yelling loudly or somehow frightened him, but he left - this was one of the men seen running from the house. Later he probably decided to return as he didn't want to leave witnesses.

Think of this, if Yasuko was tending to Niina's wounds, thinking that he left, given how small the house was, she would have heard footsteps. I think he truly left, but returned soon, and finished the women, or, women and Rei. And the second time, he didn't take off the sneakers. I believe he could have been either well-known to Mikio, but not to others, or well-known to Yasuko but not to others but somehow, he was let in. He did have a reason to be let in, be it work or hobby. Maybe he was a Japanese version of a "grievance collector".

@FacelessPodcast , you mentioned Mikio traveling to Edwards Air Base. Could he have traveled there with a colleague?

I stopped questioning the sand. I suddenly remembered the genetics that I hope would help us. In genetics, when you have tiny amounts of ethnic admixtures, like one of my relatives has a tad of "Corsican", the question usually asked is, "who was that Corsican who traveled to Russia?" The opposite could be true, a Russian guy could have traveled to Corsica and left his DNA, and the tiny piece of it is a "bridge" between my relative and that person. (People who know how initial sample groups are formed will understand.) The same could have happened here, we are looking for the person who traveled from Mojave desert to Tokyo, but if you say that Mikio traveled there, and back, maybe someone else did, too?

Pretty interesting theory I should say, esp with the fluorescent dye information.

Excellent work here

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

世田谷一家殺害事件 - Wikipedia

ja.m.wikipedia.org

The update for December 29 2011 is interesting, and seems to confirm the dye was a powder that had never been dissolved:

Investigators have revealed new facts regarding trace amounts of two types of dye found near the chest of a sweatshirt that was left behind by the criminal...Although the sweatshirt shows signs of having been washed multiple times, there is no sign that the dye has dissolved, so it is likely that the sweatshirt was not washed after the dye was deposited. Based on this, it is assumed that dye was attached to the sweatshirt just before the incident, and the investigation headquarters is focusing on the person who handled dye for work or hobby (Jiji Press [72]).

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

May 19 2018 update:

The investigation headquarters determined that the dye found on the hip bag among the criminal's belongings was "remains of a highlighter pen, etc."

I notice it only mentions the stain on the hip bag as being from a highlighter pen. The dye on the sweatshirt was apparently undissolved powder. So we may be looking at two entirely different stains--even though the chemical dye was similar.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Nothing was ever released about this, was it? It seems a little strange to go to the trouble of creating a DNA likeness, and then not show it to anyone. Or would even that be against Japan's DNA laws.

December 30th 2020: In order to estimate the criminal's age and appearance (including facial features and skin color), the investigation headquarters begins DNA type analysis using the latest scientific technology with the cooperation of external specialized institutions. (From Sankei News).

 

[Incoherent]

Re: the front door theory…

For this to be plausible Mikio would have had to have gone outside at 11pm at night, leaving the door to his house unlocked with his wife and two kids sleeping inside, one of whom was sick, and stay outside away from the door long enough for the killer to go inside and upstairs and begin murdering Rei… all without leaving any DNA or footprints at the door? There were footprints under the bathroom window and muddy footprints in the house. So how has he managed that? Stored his shoes politely before murdering everyone in slippers?

For a man as meticulous as Mikio, who had a double-lock door, an intercom, and a security fence, is he really leaving his house unlocked to do this at night in the middle of Tokyo?
I just don’t buy that. Not for long enough for the killer to enter and get upstairs without being seen.

Re: the location of the stab wounds on Mikio…

I think it’s more plausible that Mikio was attacked on the stairs and fell or was pushed back to the bottom, then tried to run back up them to get to his family and this is where the killer made the stabbings to prevent him from reaching upstairs.

JMO but I find it highly likely the killer used the bathroom window to enter, or Rei’s balcony. Not the front door.

 

[Sor Juana]

The front door invasion
On the other hand, there are reports that the traces on the front door were trampled over by the police and ambulance personnel who arrived at the scene ( e.g., Weekly Bunshun, New Year's Special Edition, January 1st and 8th, 2009 ). There are also reports that there were no scuff marks on the jacket left behind that was thought to have been worn by the perpetrator , and that no fiber or scuff marks were found on the bathroom window. [11] Furthermore, because the bloody footprints left in the victim's house were only in one direction, going up the stairs, a senior police official suggested that "the perpetrator took off his shoes at the front door to enter the house and commit the crime, and then put them back on halfway up the stairs as the floor became covered in blood." [ 12]

From Sankei Shimbun, December 19, 2002. A murder case that occurred in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan in 2000.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

The official TMPD theory is that the killer was striking from above on the landing, with Mikio climbing the stairs *towards* him.

You're responding to someone I've got on my ignored list so I don't see the OP.

But I've always questioned how the stab wounds to Mikio's legs and buttocks could be pointing upwards in that scenario; logic says the wounds were inflicted from below, or at the very least from behind, as though Mikio were fleeing *away* from the killer--not running towards him. Like you, my thought was that Mikio was attempting to climb the stairs to protect his family from an assailant who was down in the hallway, chasing him up the stairs.

I think it's because whereas the killer started stabbing downwards in that narrow space - head, face, shoulders, chest - he then had to switch up when Mikio locked bodies with him and he lost his angle. That's where he stabs from below - thighs, buttocks.

I've also suggested in the past that Mikio might have heard a noise and gone outside to investigate, inadvertently allowing the killer entry. Though in that scenario I think the killer must have gone upstairs and killed Rei first, before going back downstairs and confronting Mikio in the hallway. The lack of blood on Rei makes it almost impossible he was anything other than the first victim.

While we know Mikio was prone to going outside in such a fashion, he would have to leave the door open and walk far enough away from it that someone slipping inside wouldn't have registered with him. Technically possible, I guess. But it feels too cinematic to me.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Here 世田谷一家殺害事件 - Wikipedia

I automatically translated Japanese Wiki and am posting the result

"Details of the remains and their connection to the skateboarderThe glass spheres were made of titanium , barium , silica , and other substances, and were in the form of white powder , with five or six pieces about 50 micrometers in diameter. The glass spheres were manufactured by a glass processing manufacturer in Missouri , USA, and were used in special film for printing machines manufactured by a manufacturer in Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. [42] These were discovered through chemical analysis, and some reports have explained that "when they were first discovered, they were thought to be barium titanate, a raw material for ceramics " ( Asahi Shimbun, same article ). On the other hand, there were also reports in later years that "barium titanate (powder) was included" ( Sankei Shimbun, Yukan Fuji, August 2, 2006 ).The investigation revealed that these substances may have been scraped off from grip tape, which is used to prevent skateboards from slipping. This is usually done by a store clerk when purchasing a skateboard, but experienced skaters seem to cut the grip tape into the shape of the board themselves and scrape it off with a screwdriver or something similar.Monazite has also been found to be found in granite from the Rocky Mountains , and like the sand, it may have originated in California.These facts raise the possibility that the skateboarder may have been somehow involved in the incident. The investigation headquarters is currently looking into the possibility that a skateboard dealer or bag may have been passed from the skateboarder to another person, and is focusing its investigation on the suspect's travel history to California ( Sankei Shimbun, Yukan Fuj

Here 世田谷一家殺害事件 - Wikipedia

I automatically translated Japanese Wiki and am posting the result

"Details of the remains and their connection to the skateboarderThe glass spheres were made of titanium , barium , silica , and other substances, and were in the form of white powder , with five or six pieces about 50 micrometers in diameter. The glass spheres were manufactured by a glass processing manufacturer in Missouri , USA, and were used in special film for printing machines manufactured by a manufacturer in Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. [42] These were discovered through chemical analysis, and some reports have explained that "when they were first discovered, they were thought to be barium titanate, a raw material for ceramics " ( Asahi Shimbun, same article ). On the other hand, there were also reports in later years that "barium titanate (powder) was included" ( Th ).The investigation revealed that these substances may have been scraped off from grip tape, which is used to prevent skateboards from slipping. This is usually done by a store clerk when purchasing a skateboard, but experienced skaters seem to cut the grip tape into the shape of the board themselves and scrape it off with a screwdriver or something similar.Monazite has also been found to be found in granite from the Rocky Mountains , and like the sand, it may have originated in California.These facts raise the possibility that the skateboarder may have been somehow involved in the incident. The investigation headquarters is currently looking into the possibility that a skateboard dealer or bag may have been passed from the skateboarder to another person, and is focusing its investigation on the suspect's travel history to California ( Sankei Shimbun, Yukan Fuji, same article )."

i, same article )."

When we click the link, it merely takes us back to the same wikipedia page. We know that the TMPD obviously thought it was possible the killer was a skateboarder. My issues with the above:

1) We've spoken before about the inherent problems with wikipedia, dead links, quoting people who are fantasists (Ichihashi and so on). That it's the Japanese wikipedia page doesn't change this.

2) The TMPD have NOT been to California. Unless they lied to my face, they themselves told me this. That the Sankei Shimbun supposedly said so does not make it so. Moreover, that link is dead or non-existent.

3) Why is grip tape not mentioned by the TMPD?

 

[Incoherent]

From Sankei Shimbun, December 19, 2002. A murder case that occurred in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan in 2000.

Can you give a link for that? Your link sends me to Wikipedia. An actual source would be great.

It was confirmed that the killer was downstairs using the computer almost 2 hours after the speculated time the murder took place. He was eating ice cream down there, which he took from upstairs.
The bloodiest footprints could be in the direction of going up the staircase, but to report that’s the only direction they’re going in after the killer has been walking around on blood-soaked landings moving documents about the place is farfetched to say the least. We know he went up and down the stairs and didn’t just stay up there.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Some events before/prior/after the incident

• On the morning of the 27th, three days before the incident, a suspicious man in his mid-40s was seen lurking around the victim's home . [52]

RSMB: Throughout my hours of interviews with them, not a single credible sighting or witness statement was raised. I went through the more well-known 'sightings'. The woman driving through the park, the train station man, the three men in the taxi. No, no, no. All investigated. All ruled out. As for this man, I'm not sure if it tallies with anything I've heard before. Could just be that I missed it.

• A young man wearing clothes similar to those found at the crime scene, including a sweatshirt, hip bag, and sneakers, was seen around 3pm on the 29th, the day before the incident, near Seijo Gakuenmae Station on the Odakyu Line, 1.5km from the crime scene ( Mainichi Shimbun, November 30th, 2006 ). According to a housewife who witnessed the incident, she remembered the man well because "he was lightly dressed for the end of December." Additionally, according to Weekly Asahi ( combined issue of January 5th and 12th, 2007 ), the same man was also seen near the victim's house at around 9pm on the 30th, just before the crime.

By the same person? He was wearing the same clothes? And the killer was wearing a Uniqlo jacket with a scarf and gloves, so nothing lightly dressed about him?

• On the day of the incident, on the 30th, just after noon, an unfamiliar man was seen arguing with the victim. [ 53]

This would obviously be huge if true. The fact that I was told there are categorically no suspects has to lead me to conclude that either this is untrue or that they found this man and cleared him.

• On the day of the incident, the 30th, at around 7 pm and 10 pm, a man aged between 35 and 40 was seen walking on the sidewalk (service road) along the river near the victim's house, wearing a hat similar to the one left behind by the perpetrator at the crime scene. The man seen at 7 pm was walking next to the victim's house, and the man seen at 10 pm was walking on the sidewalk opposite the victim's house, but it is unclear whether the two men are the same person . [54]

This one actually sounds like it could be the killer, perhaps.

• On the day of the incident, the 30th, at around 10 p.m., a suspicious young man (approximately 17 to 19 years old) with blonde hair and wearing a light-colored tracksuit was spotted about 250 meters south of the victim's house in the park. The young man reportedly glared at the witness's pet dog before passing by.

So we have a man with the wrong colour hair who doesn't like dogs?

• On the day of the incident, the 30th, between 11:35 and 11:40pm, a man was seen running out of the alley leading to the victim's house and running away. A sketch of this man was released by the Metropolitan Police Department in December 2004 (see " Metropolitan Police Department Information Disclosure (2004) " below for details). The man is described as "25-35 years old, 175-180cm tall, thin, with slightly long hair, wearing a dark jacket and pants."

Seen by who? He's too old and too thin and wearing a dark jacket that we know he leaves in the house.

Also:
A neighbor heard the intercom ring at the victim's house at around 8:30 p.m. on the day of the incident . However, the witness's family members have denied hearing the sound, and the investigation into the case has not progressed, so no one has come forward. There are also reports that a passerby heard a man and woman arguing at the victim's house late at night on the 30th. [57

I'm going to assume it's a translation issue because this doesn't make sense.

 

[Sor Juana]

The official TMPD theory is that the killer was striking from above on the landing, with Mikio climbing the stairs *towards* him.

But I've always questioned how the stab wounds to Mikio's legs and buttocks could be pointing upwards in that scenario; logic says the wounds were inflicted from below, or at the very least from behind, as though Mikio were fleeing *away* from the killer--not running towards him. Like you, my thought was that Mikio was attempting to climb the stairs to protect his family from an assailant who was down in the hallway, chasing him up the stairs.

I've also suggested in the past that Mikio might have heard a noise and gone outside to investigate, inadvertently allowing the killer entry. Though in that scenario I think the killer must have gone upstairs and killed Rei first, before going back downstairs and confronting Mikio in the hallway. The lack of blood on Rei makes it almost impossible he was anything other than the first victim.

It's confusing. The idea that the killer entered through the bathroom window seems likely and explains Rei’s death by suffocation. Mikio’s wounds suggest he was above the killer on the stairs at some point. These pieces of evidence should fit together. For the time being, we could consider the possibility that the killer entered through the front door. If not, perhaps he came down from above and then went back up again. This theory might align with other pieces of evidence. There might have been a struggle on the ground floor, and Mikio tried to get up the stairs but couldn’t because of his injuries. He had stab wounds all over, indicating a prolonged fight.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

So my feeling is: the perpetrator entered via the front door. DNA in the slippers means that he took off the sneakers in a Japanese way. He brought the knife - meaning that he planned to kill if necessary but initially, he was polite.

Forgive me, you've told me about the DNA in the slippers but seeing as I've never heard of it anywhere else, remind me again. It's the killer's DNA in Mikio's slippers? At any rate, that doesn't make sense to me. At what point does he take off his shoes and put them back on? We know his shoes are on during and after stabbing.

Then there was an argument. What he wanted is unclear, but probably the witnesses would hear an accent?

I'm not convinced there was an argument. Wikipedia saying so doesn't trump the TMPD telling me that there was no direct flashpoint on the day. An Irie did not tell the Chief about it if it occurred. Nor did the neighbour who lived opposite. The one thing they thought was credible: Yasuko telling Mikio (and others) that there had been a car parking too close to the house in the days leading up to the murders. That's my view of it, of course you're welcome to believe there was an argument.

He killed Mikio. Honestly, not sure whether Rei was the first or the last, but the attacker assaulted the women.

Rei was absolutely first. How would the killer strangle him to death while bleeding freely from his hand yet not a single drop was found of Rei? It fits the sequence, too.

It is not yet clear to me whether Yasuko started yelling loudly or somehow frightened him, but he left - this was one of the men seen running from the house. Later he probably decided to return as he didn't want to leave witnesses.

How did he get back into the house, then? Why wouldn't the Miyazawas phone the police? Or raise the alarm?

Think of this, if Yasuko was tending to Niina's wounds, thinking that he left, given how small the house was, she would have heard footsteps. I think he truly left, but returned soon, and finished the women, or, women and Rei. And the second time, he didn't take off the sneakers. I believe he could have been either well-known to Mikio, but not to others, or well-known to Yasuko but not to others but somehow, he was let in. He did have a reason to be let in, be it work or hobby. Maybe he was a Japanese version of a "grievance collector".

@FacelessPodcast , you mentioned Mikio traveling to Edwards Air Base. Could he have traveled there with a colleague?

I stopped questioning the sand. I suddenly remembered the genetics that I hope would help us. In genetics, when you have tiny amounts of ethnic admixtures, like one of my relatives has a tad of "Corsican", the question usually asked is, "who was that Corsican who traveled to Russia?" The opposite could be true, a Russian guy could have traveled to Corsica and left his DNA, and the tiny piece of it is a "bridge" between my relative and that person. (People who know how initial sample groups are formed will understand.) The same could have happened here, we are looking for the person who traveled from Mojave desert to Tokyo, but if you say that Mikio traveled there, and back, maybe someone else did, too?

I don't say that Mikio went to Edwards. If he had, that would've been huge. No, I believe it's possible he had been to Yokota. And he had definitely travelled the US before. To New York to work on plane livery designs. Also with his family to visit. And California for work.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

I don't know what the information about the garage means, but it definitely seems to suggest the fluorescent substance was a powder. And that the three different types of powder would rarely be found in a single product, suggesting the specific combination was unique to a particular place or usage. Mikio was both a designer and a stage production enthusiast, meaning he'd be more likely to have access to such products.

It almost sounds like they think the killer and at least one victim had been working on a project together using the fluorescent dyes, and checked each other for contamination out in the garage before both went inside.

I can only say that the only thing LE confirmed to me on this is that the killer had highlighters in his bag. Rhodamine, basonil, powdered dyes etc -- none of that is on the TMPD website. What they say is "red fluorescent agent" is in the bag. Which I'm assuming is what is meant when they told me "highlighter pens."

We know Mikio was a designer, we know he was in a theatre group, I don't think it's surprising that he'd have paints and potions in this garage. But as I understand, there isn't a link with what's the killer's bag / clothes on this front.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Or maybe worked a day before?

There is, indeed, something strange happening around Mikio's house for the last few days prior to murder, as if he is being stalked, since December 25. Maybe, being brilliant but distracted, Mikio didn't notice it?

Also, give or take, the perp was trying to buy tickets for Shuki (four seasons?) theater performance on Mikio's computer. He either tried figure out pin code for the card, but maybe, merely had similar interests?

RSMB: He did not try to buy those tickets. For the millionth time. The only thing that is *CONFIRMED* the killer did on the computer is log on, browse around the desktop, create a new folder. That's it. I'm not saying it's impossible he went online and the rest of it, only that this is completely unconfirmed and conjecture.

One more thing I was thinking about: Mikio was managing household finances, obsessively writing down all debits/credits. It is great to have such an organized bookkeeper in the house. On the negative side, if one relies on such a partner, the person may not notice that part of the money is used for something else. Just a thought...

This is of course a possibility. Nobody is perfect etc. However, I do know that the police did their victimology and looked into everyone extensively. If they found something like this is must have gone nowhere because I was told that there was nothing that stood out about them. I do believe, given the openness I received, that such an issue would have been mentioned here.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Nothing was ever released about this, was it? It seems a little strange to go to the trouble of creating a DNA likeness, and then not show it to anyone. Or would even that be against Japan's DNA laws.

December 30th 2020: In order to estimate the criminal's age and appearance (including facial features and skin color), the investigation headquarters begins DNA type analysis using the latest scientific technology with the cooperation of external specialized institutions. (From Sankei News).

I can tell you I have extreme doubt as to whether this is true or not. First of all, cooperating with external institutions for the TMPD? Not their forte. Secondly, any DNA analysis would be void in court. Thirdly, this doesn't tally with any of my personal conversations with them. Also, does that link work for you? Does it take you to the actual Sankei article? Again, the inherent problem with Wikipedia.

 

[Sor Juana]

Can you give a link for that? Your link sends me to Wikipedia. An actual source would be great.

It comes from Wikipedia, which includes a quote from the paper. The actual link is broken, unfortunately, so is the [11] link to Weekly Bunshun. This might help if you know how to use it: Find Newspaper Articles

 

[BatataPoha]

Re: front door theory - I don’t think the crimes are that apart in time or space for someone to enter the house twice. The biggest problem with this is the consideration that this was someone close to the Miyazawas, so that Mikio would let him enter late at night. That seems highly improbable that the killer had escaped TMPDs questioning by now. Not to mention he wouldn’t leave his stuff behind. And his injuries would have been spotted.

I think Rei was killed 1st. Because it was a spotless kill relatively, coz the killer had the element of surprise. You can see the escalation in mess from there on.

Re : injuries on Mikio’s legs and buttocks - He also has a piece of knife on his head. So there are strikes to the lower body as well as head Depending upon how they grappled and their relative position, he could still have sustained those injuries even when he was above.

The shoe being off also isn’t a huge clue. It could have fallen off anytime during or after the struggle. Or taken off by the killer.

The dye part is interesting, but I dunno how much of it is verified or what to make of it. I am not a dye expert.

 

[BatataPoha]

trying to incorporate the front door theory into what we already know so far.

Disclaimer- I personally don’t believe the killer came throught the front door, but I just wanna explore a different scenario.

Assume yourself to be the killer. You see that there is no good way of entering the house without causing a lot of noise. So what do you do? You ring the doorbell.

Mikio comes up to the other side of the door. You are a foreigner. You talk on the intercom, talk about car troubles, maybe even put on an American or foreign accent, talk about how none of the other houses have helped you so far (for whatever reasons).

Miko opens the door and lets him in. He is in his outside shoes, so Mikio tells him to wait while he gets stuff from the garage to help him out with whatever he needs.

Now while Mikio is gone, the killer rushes upstairs and kills Rei. Then proceeds to do exactly what has been theorized by the police.

Biggest plotholes

Mikio doesn’t seem like this type of Good Samaritan. Also the killer was potentially dressed in a bit of a sus way for someone to open their doors to at 11:30 and leave behind when your wife and kids sleeping upstairs.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

I can tell you I have extreme doubt as to whether this is true or not. First of all, cooperating with external institutions for the TMPD? Not their forte. Secondly, any DNA analysis would be void in court. Thirdly, this doesn't tally with any of my personal conversations with them. Also, does that link work for you? Does it take you to the actual Sankei article? Again, the inherent problem with Wikipedia.

It appears to be this article saved on the Wayback Machine:

《独自》世田谷一家殺害　最新ＤＮＡ型鑑定で容姿推定へ

平成１２年１２月、東京都世田谷区で会社員の宮沢みきおさん＝当時（４４）＝一家４人が殺害された事件で、警視庁成城署捜査本部が現場に残された犯人のＤＮＡ型をもとに、…

web.archive.org

 

[lilykaluva]

So we have a man with the wrong colour hair who doesn't like dogs?

To be fair, I don't trust people who hate doggos.