On July 26, 2014, 15-year-old Japanese high school student Aiwa Matsuo (松尾 愛和, Matsuo Aiwa) was murdered by a 15-year-old female classmate. The killing took place in the suspect's apartment in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, where Matsuo was beaten with a metal tool, strangled to death, and then partially dismembered and decapitated. In Japan, this case is known as the Sasebo high-school girl murder case (佐世保女子高生殺害事件, Sasebo Joshikōsei Satsugai jiken).[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Details
The suspect, who was 15 at the time of the crime, but turned 16 shortly after, allegedly posted details and photos of the crime to the popular Japanese message board 2channel,[1] and told police that, "I wanted to kill someone. I bought tools by myself".[5][9][10][11][12][13][14] The suspect had previously attacked her father with a metal baseball bat, prompting him and her step-mother (her biological mother died the previous year) to move her into her own apartment when she began attending high school.[15] It is believed that before the murder, she attempted to "dissect" a cat and possessed several medical textbooks.[16]
Aftermath
In response to the murder, Fuji TV cancelled the July 31, 2014, broadcast of the fourth episode of the re-edited Psycho-Pass anime, which would have also featured murder of teenage schoolgirls.[17][18]
The girl's 54-year-old father apologized to Matsuo's family in July 2014 about his daughter's mental health. On October 5, 2014, he was found to have committed suicide by hanging.[19][20][21]
In 2014, it was revealed that a psychiatrist who examined the girl had contacted a child consultation center in Nagasaki to reportedly warn officials that "If she is left as she is, she could kill someone."[22] However, this warning was not acted upon, and in 2015, three officials of the Nagasaki Prefectural child consultation center were officially reprimanded by the prefectural government, which stated that the center had "failed to fulfill its duties".[23][24]
See also
- Killing of Satomi Mitarai, a 2004 murder of a schoolgirl in Sasebo
- 2007 Sasebo shooting, a 2007 double homicide in Sasebo
- Murder of Ryōta Uemura
References
- 1 2 "Police probe possible link between 2channel postings and Sasebo killing". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2017-05-21. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ Molloy, Mark. "Japanese schoolgirl arrested on suspicion of decapitating classmate". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ "Sasebo girl held in slaying didn't hold grudge against victim, police say". The Japan Times. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ "Wake held for schoolgirl murdered in Nagasaki". Mainichi Shimbun. 29 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- 1 2 "Sasebo searches for missed signals". The Japan Times. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ "Psychiatrist warned officials in June that Sasebo girl may commit murder". The Japan Times. 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
- ↑ "Welfare center received warning in June about teen held for murder". Mainichi Shimbun. 2014-08-01. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
- ↑ Schreiber, Mark (31 January 2015). "The changing motives behind juvenile crime in Japan". The Japan Times.
- ↑ "Teen 'admits' killing decapitated classmate". The Japan News. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ "16-year-old suspect 'wanted to try killing someone'". The Japan News. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ "Japanese schoolgirl admits to decapitating classmate". The Telegraph. Agence France-Presse. 2014-07-29. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ "Japanese Schoolgirl, 16, 'Killed & Beheaded Classmate Aiwa Matsuo, 15'". HuffPost. 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ "Schoolgirl 'beheaded classmate because she wanted to dissect someone'". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ McCoy, Terrence (30 July 2014). "The chilling details of a Japanese teenage murder and decapitation". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ "Teenager assaulted father months before killing classmate". Mainichi Shimbun. 2013-02-08. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ "Teen held for friend's killing 'wanted to try dissecting a person'". Mainichi Shimbun. 2013-02-08. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ "佐世保事件と酷似のTVアニメ、放送中止 内容は、女子高生による同級生バラバラ殺人事件だった- 最新ニュース|MSN トピックス". Topics.jp.msn.com. 2014-07-31. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ Komatsu, Mikikazu (2014-07-31). "4th Chapter of 'Psycho-Pass: New Edit Version' Canceled due to Similar Murder Case". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ "Arrested Japanese schoolgirl's father found dead in apparent suicide". Mainichi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ↑ "Dad of alleged schoolgirl murderer dies in apparent suicide in Sasebo". The Japan Times. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ↑ "Father of schoolgirl in Nagasaki slaying asked official not to reveal beating". The Japan Times. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ↑ "Psychiatrist warned officials in June that Sasebo girl may commit murder". August 2014.
- ↑ "VOX POPULI: Grisly slayings by teenage girls should give us pause to look within". The Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 2015-02-18.
- ↑ "Nagasaki Pref. reprimands 3 at child center over murder by girl". 16 February 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2015-02-18.