18-Year-Old Girl Goes From Witness To Murder Suspect After Teen Boys Turn Themselves In

An investigation into a two-month-old murder has resulted in the arrest of three teens, including one who previously spoke to police as a witness.

At around 10 p.m. on April 12, a 52-year-old office worker named Satomi Makoto was killed at Mikumarikyo Forest Park in Fuchu, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The perpetrators allegedly stole 50,000 yen (about $344 USD) in cash from Satomi, along with his smartphone and other personal possessions, after striking him in the head with an undisclosed weapon.

Initially, no footage of the crime scene was available, as there were no security cameras in the park’s management building. There were reportedly no witnesses either.

Later on, however, CCTV footage was obtained by Hiroshima TV that had been taken about an hour before the murder and approximately 1km away from the crime scene. In the footage, the victim can be seen walking with an 18-year-old girl from Matsuyama, the capital city of Japan’s Ehime Prefecture.

A few days after police obtained the footage, the 18-year-old voluntarily came to the police station. There, she confirmed that she had been with Satomi before his death. She also told police that two men had attacked the victim.

At around 7 p.m. on June 21, the case took a sudden turn when two male teens from Hiroshima’s Aki District, aged 16 and 18, turned themselves in to police. Police then proceeded to arrest the 18-year-old witness. All three have now been arrested on suspicion of robbery and murder.

How did the victim and suspects know each other? It’s believed that Satomi and the 18-year-old girl met several years ago while he was working in Matsuyama, and that he traveled from Tokyo to Hiroshima to meet up with her on the day he died. Some local news reports also state that she knew one of the teen boys but met the other for the first time on the day of the murder.