Setagaya family murder
| Setagaya family murder | |
|---|---|
| Location | Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan |
| Date | December 30, 2000 |
| Target | Miyazawa family |
|
Attack type
|
Mass murder, home invasion |
| Weapons | Knife |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Victims |
|
| Perpetrator | Unknown |
The Setagaya family murder (世田谷一家殺害事件? Setagayaikkasatsugaijiken) refers to the unsolved murders of the Miyazawa family in Setagaya, Japan on December 30, 2000. Despite a massive investigation that uncovered many specific clues about the killer's identity, the perpetrator was never caught.
The murders formed the basis of the crime/mystery novel Blue Light Yokohama by Nicolás Obregón, published in 2017.
44-year-old Mikio Miyazawa, his 41-year-old wife Yasuko, and their children, 8-year-old Niina and 6-year-old Rei, were discovered murdered in their house on December 31, 2000 by Yasuko's mother Asahi Geino. Rei had been strangled while the rest of the family had been stabbed.
Analysis of the crime scene concluded that the family had been murdered on December 30, after which the killer stayed in the house for several hours. The killer used the family computer and ate ice cream before leaving. The killer also left numerous articles of his clothing at the scene.
The investigation into the murders is among the largest in Japanese history, involving over 246,044 investigators who have collected over 12,545 pieces of evidence. Police have been able to deduce several very specific clues to the perpetrator's identity, but to no avail.
Police determined that the killer had eaten string beans and sesame seeds the previous day after analyzing feces from the killer in the Miyazawa's bathroom. They also determined that the clothes and knife left behind by the killer had been purchased in the Kanagawa Prefecture. Police also learned that only 130 units of the sweater were made and sold, but they have only been able to track down twelve of the people who bought the sweaters.
Analysis of DNA evidence at the scene discovered that the killer was likely not of Japanese origin. His father was of East Asian origin, but was probably of Korean, not Japanese origin. His mother also had some European ancestry, probably from a Southern European country bordering the Adriatic Sea.
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Wikipedia