It’s difficult to envision all the possibilities in detail, but I will try. If he did take a taxi for a short distance, it would likely have been from a location that wasn’t isolated; otherwise, the driver might have remembered the encounter. Therefore, he probably walked some distance first and then flagged down a passing cab instead of calling one. Reviewing logs later wouldn’t be very helpful since he was just a passenger, and the driver might not link that location to the news. Since this is just speculation, it would be helpful to know how common or uncommon it is for young men to take cabs early in the morning in Tokyo.
Regarding the sweater, how certain can the police be that it was the only item stolen from Mikio’s wardrobe? It’s possible something else could have been taken. The next door siblings, who had recently returned from overseas, might not have been familiar with the full set of clothes Mikio had. Since the police have only the relatives' input, we can’t rule out the possibility of other items being stolen. It’s important to know whether the TMPD is absolutely certain that nothing else was taken or if they lack enough information to confirm if other items were stolen.
As for the mode of transportation, while it’s unlikely the killer used a delta-plane or boat, I wouldn’t completely rule out other types of transport. There’s nothing strictly impossible about train, cab or something else. JMO.
Thank you for your thoughts
@Sor Juana!
Regarding your first point, just how far is he expected to walk before hailing the taxi? From what I understand, though the location of the house was somewhat isolated, the area the family lived was not. So for the point about hailing a taxi from an area not “isolated” it seems he would only need to walk 10 minutes down the street.
However, if we are talking Setagaya as a whole, from my (albeit limited) knowledge of Tokyo… he could have walked hours and still been in Setagaya. If taxi drivers were directed to recall passengers picked up in Setagaya I wonder just how far an injured man, who had shed his clothes, is expected to walk on a winter’s night before hailing a taxi down to be far away enough from the scene to not ring a bell. After all it is named the Setagaya Family Murders. Would he need to walk out of the city entirely before finding the taxi?
About the sweater I also thought the same. Just how sure could the TMPD and family be that he did take and wear that sweater?
Well, from what we do know, he took off his t-shirt and jacket. He could have perhaps worn an undershirt but he obviously wasn’t going outside just in that. While Ann, her husband and kid, had only returned earlier that year to the house (around Spring from what I recall) Haruko had been there the entire time. Yasuko had run the cram school out of her side of the house, so it is only to be expected Haruko had a close relationship with her daughter and the grandkids. There are photos out there of Mikio in that same ABC sweater with Haruko. If I had to guess, she was the one to report that sweater missing. The TMPD would obviously have no idea. The other part of the family may have had ideas too, even though they had only been back less than a year, depending on how much time they spent together.
I do agree it is not impossible that he could have escaped via taxi (less likely) or train (more likely) only that after this long there has been nothing that has led the TMPD to announce they suspect he did. To me that only leaves he escaped via foot or bike, or took a car.
I’m sure Tokyo’s metro system is equipped to an exceptional standard. No question about it. I’m talking about the capturing detailed images of a killer’s face and body, including specific items like Slazenger shoes. Do you have any examples of CCTV recordings from metro systems or shops that show how detailed the facial images could be back in 2000?
How I wish I did, but I don’t! If anyone here that lives in Japan could chime in that would be very interesting. But from the pictures I’ve seen of that sweater, it is not exactly hard to spot in a crowd if he did indeed wear it.
And if he didn’t, what did he wear I wonder?
