A man broke into a home in Yugawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, in April 2015 and killed resident Mie Hirai, then 66, leaving a kitchen knife driven into her forehead, a case that remains unsolved 11 years on and still frightens the town.
Hirai was found in the burned ruins of her house, lying on her bed in the bedroom. She had more than a dozen stab and cut wounds to her head and face. Police are investigating the case as murder and arson.
About six hours before the fire, a man forced his way into an apartment in a housing complex roughly 200 meters from Hirai's home. He attacked the resident, a man in his 60s, with a steel pipe, ABEMA Times reported. The victim said the man's hand was covered with a sock as he held the pipe.
The news program ABEMA no News Show tried to find the man but learned he had moved out of the apartment. Testimony he gave to the program in 2015 remains.
“Suddenly I heard the door open. I thought it was someone I knew, and then he burst in holding a steel pipe. He had a sock on his hand.”the victim said in 2015, resident attacked with a steel pipe
“He said, 'I'm going to kill you.' He looked around the place, and since there was nothing to take, he said, 'There's nothing to take from you.'”the victim said in 2015, resident attacked with a steel pipe
Investigators see one offender
Kazuhiro Yayama, a former researcher at the Kyoto Prefectural Police's forensic science laboratory, said the timing makes two separate attackers hard to imagine. "Given how unlikely it is that similar things happen at the same time on the same day, I'd say it's the same person," he said.
Hiroyasu Akiyama, a former inspector in the investigation division of the Tokushima Prefectural Police, said investigators would work on the assumption of one offender. "The same day, and a nearby place," he said. "With that, they will investigate while presuming it is the same person, without question."
A person involved in the investigation said that if the assault case is solved, the arson-murder may be solved as well. Police are carefully examining the link between the two cases.
Two unexplained differences
The man in the earlier attack searched for money, yet cash was left behind in Hirai's home. He told the resident he would kill him but did not, while Hirai was killed with a knife driven deep into her forehead.
Yayama said the attacker may have been injured. "It is quite possible the culprit himself has wounds on the little-finger side of his hand or at the base of his thumb," he said.
About 40,000 investigators have been assigned to the case in total, and no strong lead has emerged. A neighbor said the fear has not faded. "I'm still scared," the resident said. "What if the culprit is in this town?"
The man in the steel pipe attack left one more piece of information. Asked whether he was from the area, he answered yes, the victim said. The truth of that answer is unknown.
A person captured on security camera who may be connected to the case was about 170 centimeters tall and of slim build. The investigation headquarters at Odawara Police Station is asking for information at 0465-32-0110.