The Crime Crypt

THE SETAGAYA FAMILY

At their home in the Kamisoshigaya neighborhood of Setagaya in the western suburbs of Tokyo on December 31, 2000, the bodies of Mikio Miyazawa (44), his wife, Yasuko (41), and their daughters, Niina (8), and Rei (6), were discovered by Yasukos mother, Haruko, who reported it to the police.

Mikio, Yasuko, and Niina had all been stabbed to death, and Rei had been strangled to death.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Departments investigation of the crime scene revealed that the family had been murdered on December 30 at approximately 11:30 p.m. and that the perpetrator had remained in the house for several hours after the murders were committed.

Miyazawas killer got in through an open window in the second-floor bathroom at the rear of the house, by climbing up a tree and then removing the window screen. Strangling, Rei, who was sleeping in his second-floor room, the killer used his bare hands to asphyxiate him.

Mikio went up the first-floor stairs after noticing a disturbance in Reis room, fighting and wounding the killer, until he was stabbed in the head with a Sashimi bōchō knife. According to a police investigation, a section of the Sashimi knife blade broke off inside Mikios head. The killer then stabbed Yasuko and Niina with the broken blade before murdering them with a Santoku knife from the Miyazawas house.

For between two and ten hours, the killer remained inside the Miyazawas home, using the family computer, consuming barley tea, melon, and ice cream from their refrigerator, using their toilet and leaving his feces in it without flushing, treating his injuries with first aid kits and other sanitary products, and napping on a sofa in the second-floor living room.

Mikio Miyazawas computer was analyzed. It was revealed that it was connected to the internet at 1:18 a.m. the morning after the killings and again at approximately 10 a.m., around the time Yasukos mother Haruko entered the house and discovered the murders. Haruko got suspicious when she was unable to contact her daughter (the killer had disconnected the phone line) and paid a visit to the residence but had no response when she rang the doorbell.

Authorities suspect that the killer had been staying at the house until at least 1:18 a.m., although Haruko also could have accidentally triggered computer use at 10 a.m. when she discovered the crime scene.

The killer, who maintained a calm demeanor throughout the ordeal, left various personal possessions at the scene of the crime. The culprit does not appear to have been scared of being apprehended or of leaving behind evidence; thus, this does not appear to be an oversight. The suspect changed his clothes and neatly folded his outfight.

The suspect left behind Slazenger sneakers in Korean sizing, a dark green hip bag, a black handkerchief, a scarf, a jacket, and black winter gloves.

Certainly, the culprit was unconcerned about leaving any biological evidence behind. Apart from the bleeding bandages, he flushed the toilet. The stool was examined, and the police were able to determine what he had eaten the night before. It was regarded as a hearty dinner prepared by a mother. Another indication that he may have lived with his mother was a beautifully pressed handkerchief. Additionally, a bloody fingerprint was discovered, but it has never been linked to anyone.

However, police have been unable to identify or catch a suspect despite deducing some highly specific clues about the perpetrators identity. Based on an analysis of feces from the killer found in the Miyazawas bathroom, it was discovered that the killer had consumed string beans and sesame seeds the day before the murder.

After conducting an investigation, they discovered that the clothes and Sashimi knife left behind by the murderer had been purchased in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Sand particles were also discovered within the hip bag that the culprit had abandoned at the site, which was later proven to have originated in the Nevada desert, more specifically the Edwards Air Force Base area in California.

The DNA and fingerprints of the killer were discovered at the Miyazawas home; however, none of them matched the DNA and fingerprints of the killer in the Tokyo police databases, indicating that they do not have a criminal record. It was discovered that the killers blood had been obtained during an investigation of the crime scene, which revealed traces of Type A blood that did not belong to the Miyazawa family.

Genetic testing on Type A blood determined that the killer is male and possibly mixed-race, with maternal DNA indicating that the mother is of European descent, possibly from a southern European country near the Mediterranean or the Adriatic Sea, and paternal DNA indicating that the father is of East Asian origin.

The police estimate that the killer was born between 1965 and 1985 (15 and 35 at the time of the occurrence) because of the physique needed to enter the Miyazawa house and commit the murders. The wounds of the Miyazawa's show that the killer is likely to be right-handed.

Despite the fact that the case has been open for two decades, authorities are not given up. The police intend to employ DNA analysis of evidence obtained at the scene, as well as the most up-to-date technologies, to create a picture of the perpetrators face and physical appearance.