Police still unable to identify young girl found dead in Takatsuki

believed to be aged between 8 and 15

We can't get a more accurate age range? There's a huge developmental difference between an elementary school aged child and a high school aged teenager.

Mirai

The TV news said there was quite a bit of mutilation to her head, so that may be making it difficult to narrow down the age.

Such a shame. Amazing that they haven't been able to find any worried families that might be missing a child in that (very broad) age range.

Im no pathologist, but surely her puberty development would narrow down her age a little more than between 8 and 15. It's very odd that she does not fit any missing persons reports. Either she is a long-term runaway or it's possible her parent/s may be behind her death.

two suspicious cars were caught on security camera footage.

I'm not going to pretend to know more about policing than the police but I can't fathom why they would let these apparent suspects know that they know what their vehicles look like.

@Sioux Chef It is probably a bit of bluff and double bluff. The Rozzers sometimes keep information to themselves in order to weed out the nutters who who come out of the woodwork and confess to anything. At the same time, they can also telegraph information through the media and track what results. It is like throwing a stone into a pond to create ripples, or turning over a stone to make the cockroaches scuttle away, perhaps a decent analogy in this case.

More broadly speaking, there is a special social loathing of people who kill kids. I hope the fuzz go in boots and all for a result on this. I also hope that the local community is not hesitant in offering information.

There are other ways to figure out age, like bone development.

@lostrune2

There are other ways to figure out age, like bone development.

The article mentions that her hands were tied, any minimally capable Orthopedist or Radiologist can give the age (within a couple of years) with a simple X-ray of the hand of a child. The delay in giving a more detailed age of the victim is not justified. It is because of the holidays? I just hope that all other aspects of the investigation are not compromised like that.

any minimally capable Orthopedist or Radiologist can give the age (within a couple of years) with a simple X-ray of the hand of a child

And perhaps they did, giving a bone age of 10, two years either way for a typical range of 8-12. But perhaps the bone age was inconsistent with something else, such as tooth development, so it's decided to publish a broader range to ensure people don't dismiss concerns about a neighbor's kid they haven't seen recently but who falls outside a narrower range.

surely her puberty development would narrow down her age a little more than between 8 and 15.

No. It wouldn't.

I am inclined to believe this poor girl had been a captive for a very long time, and as a result, malnourished without getting much sun and no exercise. That would make her appear 8 in some ways while 15 or even older in other ways.

They say she was strangled, but she may well have hung herself. Then they carve up her up to try and cover that fact up. Just a sad possibility I constructed out of the dearth of facts here.

Regardless, I hope they catch the creeps responsible and they never see daylight or freedom again.

The fact that no worried parents / families have come forward suggests the following 4 possibilities (in my order of most to least likely):

1) The parents are people who would rather not come forward, but take matters into their own hands (i.e. Gang related).

2) As 'The Principle' suggests, the girl was held captive for a number of years - long enough for her size & appearance to be different from when she initially went missing.

3) The parents are also dead / being held somewhere.

4) The parents are responsible.

I say 'gang related' as the most likely for the simple reason that whoever dumped the body seemingly wanted it to be found - and the grisly details of the death/abuse to be made public - quickly. The body wasn't hidden, wasn't burned, wasn't left in a remote location etc. Usually in such cases, the body - or body parts - would be 'delivered' back to the family. Yakuza, logistics, trucks?? Hmmm. That's where I'd be starting my investigations.

"In new developments, police said that about an hour before the body was found, two suspicious cars were caught on security camera footage. One car came into the parking lot and another one came five minutes later. Both cars parked for about 30 minutes near the spot where the body was found and then they left one after the other. "

Snuff movie/wanted to know how it feels to kill a till girl, Really hope they figure this out asap a sad and shocking story. RIP

two suspicious cars were caught on security camera footage

What does a suspicious car look like? Wearing dark glasses and a mask? I would expect to see cars in a parking lot....

Actually, they have identified her as Natsumi Hirata, a JHSstudent from a school in Neyagawa,Osaka pref., who has left with a group of her classmates, boys and girls previous night, and didn't come home. They say a boy from her group is missing too.

Man, so many pathology experts who read Japan Today. You guys don't think J-Cops already thought of all this ^?

Thirteen year old, junior-high school first grade.

Poor girl.

One car came into the parking lot and another one came five minutes later. Both cars parked for about 30 minutes near the spot where the body was found and then they left one after the other. " That's it? the cars came in parked and then left? No driver/passenger exiting?

Hollis, do the Yakuza normally kill little girls?

RIP! May she reincarnate into a happier life!