Man sentenced to death for murder of financier, wife

The chief suspect in the murder of a wealthy Swiss-based Japanese asset manager and his wife whose bodies were found buried in a vacant lot in Kuki, Saitama Prefecture, in February 2013, has been handed a death sentence.

The ruling was handed down by the Tokyo District Court against Tsuyoshi Watanabe, 44, on Friday. Watanabe, 44, had pleaded not guilty in the trial, which began on Aug 20, and which was heard by lay judges.

Watanabe and another man, Takaaki Kuwahara, 42, were charged with killing financier Makoto Shimomi, 51, and his 48-year-old wife Mie, who had been living in Switzerland for four years prior to their deaths. They were said to live a high-flying lifestyle in Europe and owned apartments in Tokyo and Chiba, as well as several luxury cars.

The case gained a lot of media attention at the time.

As police closed in on Watanabe, he tried to commit suicide by swallowing a toilet cleaning liquid. He was found lying beside his car on a road in the middle of a field in Miyakojima. After he was discharged from hospital, he was flown to Tokyo.

Prosecutors said that Watanabe, a former fishery company executive, bore a grudge against Shimomi, blaming him for the loss of hundreds of millions of yen in investments, TBS reported.

The court heard that the Shimomis had come back to Japan for a visit in November 2012 and were scheduled to return to Switzerland on Dec 14. However, they disappeared after leaving their Ginza apartment on Dec 7. They were seen getting into a car and were never heard from again.

The couple told friends that they had been invited by "an acquaintance" to a party in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, on Dec 7, but police found no evidence of any scheduled party.

The two bodies were found buried in a shallow grave in a vacant lot in Kuki. Police said both victims were strangled to death and there were no personal belongings on them.

Investigators also revealed that after the Shimomis went missing, Makoto’s credit card was used unsuccessfully at Tokyo Station by a man in a white face mask attempting to purchase 3 million yen worth of shinkansen ticket coupons. Some of their personal belongings were sold at pawnshops in Tokyo, police said.

The court heard that Watanabe had been communicating by phone and email with Shimomi for about a year about investment deals, TBS reported.

Watanabe owned the plot of land where the bodies were found.

Watanabe's lawyer said he intends to appeal the death sentence.

© Japan Today