Yoshihiro Hattori
| Date | October 17, 1992 |
|---|---|
| Location | Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Accused | Rodney Peairs |
| Charges | Manslaughter |
| Verdict | Not guilty |
Yoshihiro Hattori (服部 剛丈 Hattori Yoshihiro?, November 22, 1975 – October 17, 1992) was a Japanese exchange student residing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, at the time of his death. Hattori was on his way to a Halloween party and went to the wrong house by accident. The property owner, Rodney Peairs, shot and killed Hattori, thinking he was trespassing with criminal intent. The homicide and Peairs' acquittal in the state court of Louisiana received worldwide attention.
Born in Nagoya, Japan, to Masaichi and Mieko Hattori, Yoshihiro was 16 years old when he went to Baton Rouge as part of the American Field Service (AFS) student exchange program; he had also received a scholarship from the Morita Foundation for his trip. He was the middle child between a brother and a sister, and was described as a gregarious teen who played on his high school rugby team and loved fishing.
Two months into his stay in the United States, Hattori and his homestay brother Webb Haymaker received an invitation to a Halloween party on October 17, 1992, organized for Japanese exchange students. Hattori went dressed in a tuxedo in imitation of John Travolta from the film Saturday Night Fever. Upon their arrival in the quiet working-class neighborhood where the party was held, the boys mistook the Peairs' residence for their intended destination due to the similarity of the address and the Halloween decorations on the outside of the house. They stepped out of their car and walked to the front door.
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