crime

Couple get life in prison for strangling woman in car

20 Comments

The Utsunomiya District Court in Tochigi Prefecture on Friday sentenced a 42-year-old man and his 26-year-old girlfriend to life in prison for the murder of a 21-year-old woman in May.

The court heard that Manami Hirasawa was reported missing in April. Her body was discovered in the backyard of a private residence in Mooka City, Tochigi Prefecture.

On May 22, police arrested Yasuhiro Ishizaki and his female acquaintance, Maya Tezura, after they were observed on bank surveillance camera footage using an ATM to withdraw money from Hirasawa's account in April, Fuji TV reported.

Ishizaki admitted to strangling Hirasawa to death inside his car before burying her body on April 5.

Police searched the backyard of Ishizaki's parents' home after he admitted to burying Hirasawa's body there. The couple were initially charged with stealing 8 million yen from Hirasawa's bank account on April 6.

Ishizaki met Hirasawa through an online chat site.

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20 Comments
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"Ishizaki admitted to strangling Hirasawa to death"

RIP Manami-chan!! :-(

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Why O Why?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

So, I still don't get Japanese sentencing for those that commit murder. Why do these 2 get life imprisonment as their punishment for the murder for this woman, but in the recent cases of the ex-Buddhist monk and woman in Tokyo, they both got 16 years? All 3 are murders of a single person, not multiple murders. All involved pre-meditation. Is it the aspect of having committed another crime (robbery) that led to it?!

7 ( +9 / -2 )

It's really unbelieveable! What had happened to Japan now? We believed that the country is very safe but why do these people doesn't get any death sentence since after they were arrested?! Why do they always murder a woman?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

WHY???!!! all this just for a robbery? of a 21 year old who probably didn't have that much money? What on earth was the point?

3 ( +6 / -3 )

@NathalieB,

all this just for a robbery? of a 21 year old who probably didn't have that much money?

Well, actually, according to the article:

The couple were initially charged with stealing 8 million yen from Hirasawa’s bank account on April 6.

Yen 8 million isn't a fortune, but it is a tidy sum. And a decent sum for a 21 year old to have. I have a feeling that they knew she had this money and, therefore, that was the motivation.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

finally a reasonable sentencing!

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Killing a woman to just get money is nothing more than a short-sighted crime. That's inexcusable! RIP.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

"And a decent sum for a 21 year old to have"

She had obviously been "compensated dating" for some time before her luck finally ran out.

Don't do it kids!! :-(

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

They were beyond desperate to kill for that amount of money. I hope fate never puts me in around people so sick.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Sorry they killed for no reason in my opinion. Joy providing is not a reason get a job. This guy at lady deserve the same fate as a victim. Why should we as honest citizens have to pay to keep people like this alive for the rest your lives?!?

The death penalty seems perfectly acceptable here for both of them. They strangled her they should die by strangulation!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@skeeter27 And the fact that innocents are also killed by the death penalty doesn't offend you? It offends me. You want a cheaper system by which innocents will have even less of a chance of recourse (because you'll have to pay for the DP system too)? That offends me as well. Getting vengeance on these two is so important to you that you'll sacrifice innocent lives in the process? Well, I guess as long as it's not you, you don't care.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It offends me.

It offends me that there are people that think these two are innocent.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Me too! Think of the victims. And only the victims...

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Ishizaki admitted to strangling Hirasawa to death inside his car before burying her body on April 5.

sacrifice innocent lives in the process

What innocent lives do you keep referring to? The only innocent life that was lost was a young woman that was strangled. I guess it's okay to you that criminals can hand out random death verdicts, but the judicial system can't?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

That's the only conclusion to draw... :-(

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@Conspiracy Theory

shallots never suggested that these two are innocent. I believe he was referring to other people who are currently on a dead row, let's say due to a forced confession but being innocent. There have been quite a few cases in recent years of people spending more than a decade in Japanese jails while being innocent. All thanks to forced confessions.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

And others are executed.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Agree with the 2 above. If they are guilty, by all means, throw the book at them. But confessions in Japanese custody are infamous for being coerced. In this case though cc cams have captured them taking money from her account, and they knew where she was buried. So I'd say they are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Ishizaki met Hirasawa through an online chat site.

No one commented on the fact this is online crime. People really need to be careful about actually meeting online acquaintances.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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