Police make public appeal over unsolved 2000 Setagaya murder case

Monday 22nd December, 11:21 AM JST

TOKYO —

Police on Sunday made a public appeal over the unsolved murder of a family of four in Setagaya, Tokyo, on Dec 30, 2000. A couple, their 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, were found murdered in their home.

Police handed out leaflets with pictures of a sweatshirt found at the crime scene and believed to be the suspect’s to commuters outside Seiseki Sakuragaoka station. Police said the sweatshirt was sold to 10 people at shops in Tokyo, one of which is located near the station. Police said, however, they have not been able to track down all the people who bought the shirt.

The Seijo police department has also been calling for information on the case and is offering a 1 million yen reward for any information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers. Anyone with information is urged to call 03-3482-3829.

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14 Comments

Proffessor at 01:37 PM JST - 22nd December

He or she can run but, wont hide any longer.
franz75 at 01:44 PM JST - 22nd December

"murder of a family of four in Setagaya, Tokyo, on Dec 30, 2000"

wow... going to be 8 years next week...

who remembers details about 8 years ago?
techall at 01:48 PM JST - 22nd December

If I remeber right there was a plethora of clues in the house but, like the JonBenet Ramsey case, they have been unable to identify a suspect.
BlackFlag at 02:05 PM JST - 22nd December

7 more years and the police will wash their hands of the whole thing, justice has a time limit in japan
telecasterplayer at 02:58 PM JST - 22nd December

It's not even a toll-free number?
timorborder at 03:07 PM JST - 22nd December

This is the case that I have cited in a number of other crime-related posts. For the first year or so, the cops were all over this case like a bad smell. However, as soon as public attention switched to other crimes, this case was effectively buried. Now it pops up once a year only, around this time. Moreover, considering the statute of limitations in this country, sooner or later the cops will put this one to bed without a result.
oreoreda at 03:40 PM JST - 22nd December

Pretty poor face-saving effort for the end of the year.
BBLeo at 05:38 PM JST - 22nd December

After eight long years, police came out from hiding, and now asking for public to solve the crime. Victims must be turning themselves in their graves. Is this some sort of first of April joke? How can you have respect for such 'public protective masters of Japan?'
justmeinto at 08:30 PM JST - 22nd December

Although I fully realize that often major crimes are not solved as quickly as portrayed on some popular TV shows, I found it strange a few years ago when a police sergeant showed up at my door to ask if I had heard anything suspicious on a night ten months previous. He was talking about a shooting that had occurred some two kilometers away from where I lived at the time. I guess the need to check off all the boxes on the investigation report needed completion.
YadotNapaj at 10:48 PM JST - 22nd December

Unless the killer starts bragging about it, as time passes it becomes harder and harder.
ninjaboy at 11:42 PM JST - 22nd December

Maybe this headline should read: "Police make public appeal over 2000 unsolved murder cases." What the Japanese police lack in corruption, they certainly make up for in incompetence.
Tatanka at 08:44 AM JST - 24th December

Most (but not all) unsolved murders like this are professional hits.
borscht at 09:22 AM JST - 24th December

Tatanka,

I read an article by a Japanese lawyer on how to commit the perfect murder: live in one prefecture, murder in another, buy the weapon in a third, and after the murder, move to a fourth prefecture. If possible, bury the bodies in a fifth prefecture. Seems there is a lack of communication between prefectural police departments. The Setagaya murder seems odd because there doesn't seem to be a motive.
Tatanka at 09:43 AM JST - 24th December

Borscht My 20+ years of living here has taught me one thing: news organizations do not have all the facts and the police only disclose information that is convenient for them. There is a motive for (almost) every crime, even the sadistic ones. An isolated incident where an entire family is murdered has all the trappings of some sort of revenge killng or could be due to unpaid debts, but we will probably never know...