Stalker dies after setting woman's house on fire in Wakayama

Tuesday 30th June, 02:30 PM JST

WAKAYAMA —

A man who had been reportedly stalking a 42-year-old woman set her house on fire, destroying the building and killing himself in the process, police said Monday.

Just before 10 p.m., a nurse who lies in Aridagawa Town contacted police, saying there was a man beating on her front door. When police arrived on the scene, flames could be seen coming from the second-story window. The woman and her 15-year-old daughter sustained minor injuries while fleeing from the house.

After extinguishing the fire, firefighters found a body on the first floor that police believe is a man who had repeatedly stalked the woman. According to police, the woman had contacted them last year reporting the stalker, and police had warned the man. The woman then received a slanderous letter from an anonymous sender earlier this year, the details of which were being investigated. Police have stated that they were “taking the appropriate actions” at the time of the incident.

News reports

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Latest 15 of 22 Total Comments Show All

paolo27th at 07:06 PM JST - 30th June

According to police, the woman had contacted them last year reporting the stalker, and police had warned the man. The woman then received a slanderous letter from an anonymous sender earlier this year, the details of which were being investigated. Police have stated that they were “taking the appropriate actions” at the time of the incident.

The last sentence is just totally contraddicted by the first two.
nandakandamanda at 07:21 PM JST - 30th June

Stalkers fall into a brain illusion, some internal twisted logic by which everything is judged and justified.

No warning by the police or lawyers will affect their behavior/behaviour.

They have superior skills, like the lion or the shark, able to zero in on their delicious prey, without any need to acknowledge petty external interference. In fact, if the truth be told, the authorities are not just ignorant fools who don't understand, but they are irrelevant and plain wrong.

I can see elements of this kind of thinking in some of my students.

Now ask again, is there no law, and aren't the police doing anything?
helloklitty at 08:25 PM JST - 30th June

Any chance she killed him and set fire to the house to destroy the evidence?
BeaverCleaver at 10:00 PM JST - 30th June

Label a man a stalker, provide scant details, and watch people come toting pitchforks and shotguns. Being as he burnt the house down, it looks like he really was a stalker. But before that, what evidence is there? She reported him, for what we don't know. Maybe nothing but spite. The police warned him, and I would say that is appropriate. Most stalkers are going to stop there, people being people. But then he sends a slanderous letter. Oh my! If slanderous posts were stalking and a jailable offense, there would be maybe three or four members left here at Japan Today.

Ladies and Gentleman, get real. Minority Report was just a movie. The police used to be inept about this, but they are now on the ball about as much as is possible, and that is not much. If you have a stalker, you have to deal with it. The police cannot wipe everyone's bottom til its sterile.

Anyway, poetic justice. Too bad the woman and daughter lost all their stuff.
aerockyulhim at 12:00 AM JST - 1st July

BeaverCleaver, thanks, that was the movie I was talking about. And even if people somehow believe that would be an ideal situation, does anyone really want police coming after them for their thoughts or for the possibility of committing a crime? I hate stalkers and the stalker mentality as much as anyone, but really the police CAN'T do anything, it's not necessarily that they WON'T do anything (at least until after the fact).
medievaltimes at 12:53 AM JST - 1st July

Police have stated that they were “taking the appropriate actions” at the time of the incident.

Ha ha ha. Define "aprropriate actions" in a bit more detail please.
Fadamor at 02:11 AM JST - 1st July

Simple. The police had filed the report and were willing to listen to her more seriously the next time he bothered her. What "actions" do you think they were going to be able to do? You can't arrest a guy for stalking unless he violates a binding directive to stay away (here in the States it would be a court order to stay x number of feet from the complainant). I didn't see in the article where a court order had been issued. The woman's only hope was for the police to catch the guy banging on her door, then he probably would have been carted off.

I hope she had insurance on her stuff.
amerijap at 05:32 AM JST - 1st July

The good news is that the victim and her daughter were safe and sound escaping from a psycho-maniac 's suicidal plot to burn everything in sin.
Joe2ch at 05:49 AM JST - 1st July

Why can't we know this stupid guy's name?
sakurasuki at 09:22 AM JST - 1st July

First he stalked and now thanks to him, his target become homeless.
dracpoo2 at 09:28 AM JST - 1st July

If the stalker had been a gaijin there would be a new rapid response unit established.
bushlover at 12:58 PM JST - 1st July

Any chance he was trying to collect on a debt to himself? She reports him as a stalker and then arranges for his demise and a little insurance at the same time and all suspicion is gone because he was reported as " A STALKER ". Never know. It could have some meat to it.
aerockyulhim at 01:31 PM JST - 1st July

We can only hope the police think of those other possibilities instead of dismissing a thorough investigation. While the cops can't do anything more than what they do to prevent stalking cases, they CAN investigate afterwards. Let's hope they do their jobs, as they should for any case.
boboh at 04:21 PM JST - 1st July

helloklitty,

i hope so.
Cynthia at 09:00 AM JST - 3rd July

To HelloKitty- There's a good possibility, but i have to say, if that is the case,.. more power to her cause it was a smart thing to do.