Police widen search for Hiraoka’s killer as grisly details emerge

Friday 13th November, 02:00 AM JST

HIROSHIMA —

Police on Thursday further increased the number of officers searching for the remaining body parts of University of Shimane student Miyako Hiraoka, 19, and have begun checking video stores in the area for certain DVD rental patterns in the belief that horror movies may have had a part to play in the disturbing crime.

A mushroom collector last Friday discovered the severed head of the girl, who went missing last month after leaving work at an ice cream parlor in Hamada, Shimane Prefecture. Police, deploying about 200 officers a day so far, have since found her torso, left ankle and a thigh bone, all in separate locations and possibly hurled into the undergrowth from a vehicle.

Meanwhile, grisly details about the condition of Hiraoka’s body emerged. Police revealed to the media that there were signs Hiraoka had been burnt in places. Media have reported that the head showed signs of assault before her death, that both breasts had been cut off the torso, and that the flesh seemed to have been scraped off the thigh bone.

Police said that they were analyzing highway cameras on nearby Route 186, which connects Hiroshima and Hamada, looking for one car in particular that a nearby resident said had repeatedly sped down the windy road that Hiraoka used to walk home, at around the same time of night.

The male resident told police that he saw a car speed down the narrow road once or twice a week for the past couple of months at around 9.30 p.m., the same time that Hiraoka used to walk home after her part-time job finished. The man added that he hadn’t seen the car since Hiraoka went missing on Oct 26.

Police also said that Hiraoka had told her parents several days before she went missing that she would be changing her part-time job as the walk home was scary for her. Her new workplace was located near JR Hamada station, in the direction which several people claimed to have seen a woman with a black-and-white top similar to the one Hiraoka was wearing.

Wire reports

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Latest 15 of 52 Total Comments Show All

kinniku at 05:43 PM JST - 13th November

I know the police will continue to do their best to find the horrible excuse for a human being that killed this poor innocent young woman. I pray for her, her family and friends.
sicklittlemonkey at 05:50 PM JST - 13th November

There's an interesting short talk on TED by Jim Fallon about the genetic and environmental factors common to many killers. I hope the police catch this terrible new example.
Badge213 at 07:40 PM JST - 13th November

Jesus , this is one reason why I support the death penalty for murders.
Makun at 07:57 PM JST - 13th November

I feel so much sadness for this girl...She worked at an ice cream parlor for Christ's sake. She had her hole life ahead of her. Humanity at its finest. All I can do is try my best to protect the ones I care about.
Molenir at 08:04 PM JST - 13th November

Jesus , this is one reason why I support the death penalty for murders.

Indeed. And why, even in a civilized society, there must be a death penalty, for those who are completely uncivilized.
souryeki at 08:19 PM JST - 13th November

Reminds me Birdman of Mo Hayder, as sick as that.
DXXJP at 08:22 PM JST - 13th November

To me the ground off flesh would suggest she might have been hit by the car. As far as the rest well maybe in a panic the suspect thought it would be harder to find or assemble a suspect with the body scattered.

Remember though not to long ago the cops thought that the person who cut the boys head off was an older deviant, just to find out the killer was but a boy.
Sarge at 08:39 PM JST - 13th November

"...and he is still out there..."

"He" is probably a he, but just might be a she. We just don't know.

Whoever did this needs to be apprehended, put on trial, and executed ASAP.
southsakai at 10:24 PM JST - 13th November

This bastard is beyond sick, total psycho. I wish we had the gas chamber for nut jobs like these. Better yet, ship them off to some Islamic sharia country for justice and punishment. I just can't imagine how her parents will cope with this.
Sarge at 10:34 PM JST - 13th November

Whoever did this makes Ichihashi look like a saint.
ptolemy at 11:20 PM JST - 13th November

For the love of Zeus!!! MRT in Miyazaki just ran all these details which means TBS has as well. I wonder how her family can possibly cope knowing all this. Sometimes it is best if the media zips it, especially in these details.

I would probably die knowing this kind of brutality was done to my wife or daughter. It seems after Nori-P, the Japanese media have lost what little ethics it had left.
PepinGalarga at 12:12 AM JST - 14th November

yeah, they should not be releasing any of these details since they only hinder confirmation of any confession beat, er. talked out of any suspect. Also, the family deserves to be treated with dignity.
WilliB at 03:08 AM JST - 14th November

ptolemy:

" It seems after Nori-P, the Japanese media have lost what little ethics it had left. "

They had some?
stormcrow at 01:37 AM JST - 15th November

poor, poor girl

poor, poor family

what kind of a sick animal would do something like this?
mnemosyne23 at 02:39 AM JST - 18th November

I hope they find the sick freak who did this, try him, convict him, and then hand him over to the general public for a good ol' fashioned lynching. I'm assuming it's a male who did this, but if it's a female I want the same thing. No mercy, no leniency, and absolutely no chance of breathing fresh air again.

To me the ground off flesh would suggest she might have been hit by the car

Agreed. Hit by a car, or possibly dragged by an animal. I'm not a forensic specialist and I certainly don't know the total state of the remains that have been found -- despite the media's attempts to tell us all the grisly details -- but I have to believe that at least SOME of the horrors inflicted on this poor girl were done post-mortem during disposal of the body. Which is not to say I give this disgusting creep any kind of leniency; he's a butcher and a devil. Hmm, you know, instead of a public lynching, how about they go REALLY old school on this guy and draw and quarter him? There'd be some sweet justice in tearing him (or her) limb from limb, don't you think?