Slasher Jumps After Killing Two

"Kyoto, Japan - A 26-year-old woman and her 2-year-old daughter were found dead early Sunday with their necks slashed in their home in Kaizu, Gifu Prefecture, while the woman's husband jumped to his death in a nearby city, police said.

"The police believe the man, Kazuto Hishida, 43, committed suicide after killing his wife, Kaoru, and daughter, Manami.

"According to investigators, the woman and girl were found dead at around 5:45 a.m. in a bedroom on the second floor of their house. An apparent suicide note written by the man was found near their bodies.

"The man's body had been found a little more than an hour earlier after he apparently jumped from the 14th floor of an apartment building in Aisai, the police said.

"His sandals were found on the 14th floor and his car was found near the building, they said."

Source: The Japan Times...

Teen Victim Survives Murder/Suicide

"HYOGO, Japan — An 18-year-old boy committed suicide by stabbing himself in the chest after attacking a high school girl with a knife on Sunday in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, police said. The girl, who was an acquaintance of the boy, was stabbed in the chest, but is in a stable condition in hospital, police said Monday.

"Police said they received a call at 10 p.m. on Sunday from the victim’s mother. She told police that her 17-year-old daughter was with her in their apartment when she received a phone call from the boy, telling her to meet him outside so that he could return an MD player. When the girl went out to meet him in an adjacent parking lot, he stabbed her and she ran back into the house.

"The boy stabbed himself on the spot and died a few hours later in hospital, police said. He and the girl were reportedly dating."

From JapanToday...

"Dead On Their Futons"

"YOKOHAMA, Japan — A woman and her two children were found dead on their futons in their home in Yokohama on Tuesday morning, in what police believe may have been a murder-suicide.

"At around 7:30 a.m., police received a phone call from a man living in the Asahi Ward home, reporting that he had come home from working a night shift and found his wife and two children dead. Police arrived at the scene to find Kumiko Fujihara and her two children, 7-year-old daughter Honoka and 5-year-old son Takumi, dead on their futons. All three had rope-like marks on their necks, and a thick cord was found near Kumiko’s body.

"Kumiko is said to have been having difficulty dealing with the people around her, police said."

Source: JapanToday.com...

Salaryman Strangles Family

"SHIZUOKA, Japan - Police are investigating a possible murder-suicide after a man and three women were found dead at a house in Izunokuni, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Thursday morning.

"The police suspect that Yuji Sugimura, a 58-year-old company employee, strangled his wife, 57, and two other women--believed to be the couple's daughters--before hanging himself.

"According to Ohito Police Station, Sugimura, who lived with his wife and their two daughters, aged 26 and 22, was found hanging in the first floor living room when a colleague visited the house at about 8:45 a.m. on Thursday.

"A woman's body also was found on the first floor, while the bodies of Sugimura's wife and another woman were discovered on the second floor after the police arrived.

"All three women showed signs they had been strangled, the police said."

Source: Daily Yomirui Online...

Two Found Dead In Van

"OSAKA, Japan — A 47-year-old unemployed man and his 9-year-old son were found dead in a van parked in the grounds of a shrine in Sakai City on Thursday in an apparent murder-suicide. Police suspect the man forced his son to commit suicide with him after finding burnt coal briquettes inside the vehicle.

"A passer-by noticed the man and boy slumped in the front of the van at about 3 p.m., and notified police at a nearby police box. Police said the van doors were locked and that they found the coal briquettes in the back of the van. Police also found a note in which the man said he had lost the will to live."

From JapanToday.com...

"Happy" Family Of Five DEAD

"Ishigaki City, Japan - Five members of an Ishigaki City family have been found dead in their home, and police think the deaths could be a murder-suicide pact.

"Police are releasing no names in the case, saying only that the dead were a 47-year-old man, his 37-year-old wife, an eight-year-old son and two daughters ages six and three. The bodies were discovered by the woman’s father, who had come to visit and found the door locked. When he looked in a window and saw his daughter’s body lying on the floor, he called police.

"The man’s body, along with those of the three children, were on the second floor of the residence. Police say the three children’s bodies had stab wounds. Police say they believe murder-suicide to be a possibility because doors and windows of the home in the Shineicho area were all locked. They say the dead man ran a restaurant business.

"Police questioning neighbors learned that there had been an apparent loud argument Wednesday morning, enough that it woke them. One neighbor said `we could hear the children were crying and the man and lady were making loud noises. The woman’s voice was so high, we woke up.` Nearby residents and neighbors say the family seemed to be happy, and they were kind and friendly to everybody."

From JapanUpdate.com...

Bloostained Baseball Bat Found At Scene

"Matsuyama City, Japan - A 62-year-old man and his 57-year-old brother were found dead in their apartment in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, on Wednesday night. Police said the younger brother seems to have killed his elder brother and then committed suicide.

"Noyubuki Isshiki, 62, and his brother Tatsuro, 57, were found dead by police and city officials around 7:30 p.m. after the apartment owner reported that he had been unable to contact the tenants for a few days.

"Nobuyuki was found lying on a futon and Tatsuro in the bathroom. Police also found bloodstains at the entrance and on a baseball bat, along with human hair."

Source: Japan Today...