東京とうきょう八王子はちおうじスーパー3さん人にん殺害さつがい事件じけん未み解決かいけつのまま30さんじゅう年ねん

In 30 days, it will be 30 years since the robbery-murder case in which two female high school students working part-time and a female part-time worker were shot and killed with a handgun at a supermarket in Hachioji, Tokyo, in 1995.

The Metropolitan Police Department has deployed a total of 220,000 investigators in pursuit of the perpetrator, but there is no promising information, and the case remains unsolved.

On July 30, 1995, in the office of the Nampei supermarket in Hachioji City, Tokyo, three people were shot in the head and killed with a handgun: part-time high school workers Hiromi Maeda 16 and Megumi Yabuki 17, and part-time employee Noriko Inagaki 47.

In April 2010, just before the statute of limitations was set to expire, the statute was abolished. The Metropolitan Police Department has deployed more than 226,000 investigators in total and continues to pursue the suspect on suspicion of robbery and murder, but as of the 30th, 30 years have passed since the incident without an arrest.

The case in which three women were brutally murdered shocked society and is said to have led to movements aiming to eradicate guns and to stricter enforcement.

A total of 1,678 pieces of information have been submitted to the special investigation headquarters over the past 30 years, with 32 in the past year alone. Some of these included tips such as someone I know might be involved in the case, but none have directly led to the perpetrator.

As the 30th anniversary of the incident approaches, Chief Masayuki Okabe of the First Investigation Division stated, All of our investigators are committed to doing everything in our power to catch the perpetrator, with the single-minded determination to help the bereaved families regain their normal lives, keeping their pain in our hearts. He appealed for cooperation in the investigation, asking people to provide as much information as possible, even if it seems trivial.

The contact point for providing information regarding the incident is the Special Investigation Headquarters of the Hachioji Police Station: 042-621-0110.

At the gathering held on the 26th of this month, a sunflower—chosen to reflect Mr. Yabuki’s cheerful personality—was placed next to his photo in the room, and about 30 people quietly offered their prayers.

Mr. Takahisa Ito, who was the head of the grade, said, Yabuki was enjoying high school life with friends and was just starting to dream about a bright future for herself.

I believe that, more than the grief of family and friends, the one who felt the greatest sadness and frustration was the person themself, he said.

A former classmate, Megumi Takano, who was said to be close to Mr. Yabuki, said, When I rode the train with Mr. Yabuki, he would often talk to small children so much that it made me feel embarrassed.

Since we had promised to hang out during summer vacation, I said to you again today, I wish we could have gone.

I thought the incident was just a dream, but even when I changed the TV channel, the same news was on, and I watched it while crying, she said.

It is frustrating and painful that 30 years have passed without the case being solved.

Even if the culprit is caught, the three people who died will not come back, but I want to wait and believe that this will definitely be resolved, they said.

At the time, Mr. Horikawa was a sergeant in the Violent Crimes Investigation Unit of the Hachioji Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division, responsible for investigating murders and robberies.

After finishing work and returning home, I was giving my two-year-old daughter a bath around 10 p.m. when I got a call from my workplace.

There are three women dead in the office.

When I first heard the news over the phone, I immediately thought, “Could this be a mass suicide by Aum Shinrikyo followers?” This was because the Tokyo subway sarin attack had occurred in March of the same year, and the police investigation was still ongoing.

I hurried back to the station, and what I saw at the scene when I rushed there in a police vehicle was a horrific and bizarre sight like nothing I had ever seen before.

When I entered the office, I found two female high school part-timers with their wrists bound together with adhesive tape, their mouths also sealed with tape, and both had been shot in the head and killed.

In the back of the office, a female part-time employee was found sitting on the floor, having been shot twice in the head and killed.

Both died instantly, indicating that the perpetrator fired at point-blank range, pressing the gun close to them.

Mr. Horikawa said, All the victims were women, and there were even 16- and 17-year-old high school girls among them. I was shocked and couldnt believe it.

Why do I have to go this far? I started to feel angry.

The person said, There was someone who was shot first, and when I thought, Im next, I felt a fear that I cant put into words.

After the forensic work was finished, Mr. Horikawa put the body into a body bag, carried it out of the scene, and transported it to the police station.

It was a hot day that left a strong impression on me, with sweat pouring out even late at night. I remember thinking, Im sorry for letting my sweat drip onto the bag, and apologizing in my heart.

I remember carrying the body, thinking, You must have been really scared. I will definitely catch the culprit.

Various kinds of information were brought to the investigation headquarters every day, and as the scope of the investigation expanded, they were unable to narrow down the suspect profile, considering people who had connections to the victim, habitual drug users, and those with a history of bad behavior.

We thoroughly checked each car that matched the witness reports and descriptions, one by one.

There was also an investigation conducted in the Philippines, where the manufacturer of the handgun was identified, but they were unable to get closer to the suspect, and the investigation became prolonged.

He also met directly with the bereaved families to report on the progress, and as he encountered their feelings of wanting the perpetrator to be caught as soon as possible, his own feelings of Im sorry grew stronger.

Fifteen years after the incident, in April 2010, with the statute of limitations about to expire

The statute of limitations for crimes such as murder has been abolished due to a revision of the law.

The members of the investigation headquarters at the time said they felt a ray of hope in being able to continue pursuing the culprit, but in 2012, Mr. Horikawa had to leave the investigation without being able to make an arrest.

He retired from his job as a detective because of his feelings about not being able to solve the case.

Mr. Horikawa said, It took 17 years, and we still havent been able to reveal the name or appearance of the perpetrator. I feel sorry for the victims and their families.

I left the investigation headquarters with the case still unsolved and had to leave it to later investigators, which is my own sense of guilt, and I have no excuse for it.

The only ones who can bring justice for the victims and their families are the active investigators, so I truly hope they do their best and that news of the arrest will be brought to the grave.

The Hachioji Police Station, where the investigation headquarters is located, moved its building in 2017, and this month, special permission was granted for filming.

There are still many investigation materials stored in the room, along with photos of the three deceased, and a thousand paper cranes folded by the high school girls classmates are offered there.

A clock showing the estimated time of the incident, 9:15 p.m., was placed nearby.

The investigators are joining their hands together, reaffirming their determination to apprehend the suspect.

It is said that successive Chiefs of the Criminal Investigation Department and Chiefs of the First Investigation Division at the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters have also visited this place.

On the day of the interview, Hideo Oi, the Special Director of the First Investigation Division in charge of investigating unsolved cases, said, It has been 30 years since the incident occurred, but I want you to persistently continue a thorough investigation without ever giving up, keeping in mind the victims regret and the feelings of the bereaved family.

The investigation that only involved pressing has already finished.

By thoroughly pursuing the case, the investigation will move forward, he instructed the investigators.

The Metropolitan Police Department created two models with a 3D printer 10 years ago to visualize the scene at the time and aid in the investigation. One is a model of the entire supermarket at about 1/70th the actual size, and the other is an office at about 1/28th the actual size.

The safe that contained the sales proceeds and the refrigerator that was tilted at an angle, among other things, are reproduced in detail to reflect the situation immediately after the incident.

The suspect is believed to have entered the second-floor office using the buildings external staircase.

One of the pieces of evidence that the investigation headquarters is focusing on is the footprints left at the scene.

We have identified two possible shoe brands that the suspect may have been wearing and are requesting information.

One is a pair of shoes priced between 7,000 and 8,000 yen, with over 430 pairs sold in Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Saitama.

Another one is a pair of shoes that sold about 100 pairs nationwide for around 12,000 yen.

They are continuing their investigation by identifying the purchaser and interviewing them about the time period when the incident occurred.

They are also asking people to provide information if they see someone wearing similar shoes in photos or home videos from that time.

Senior Special Investigator Oi said, We are proceeding with the investigation by checking each piece of evidence—of which there are several hundred—to see if any can be re-examined using the advanced technology available today.

I think there are people who feel scared to testify in cases involving brutal methods.

This is a case that the Metropolitan Police Department must not forget and absolutely must solve. Please contact us with any information, no matter how small.

He said, Those dots will definitely connect to form a line.

The incident occurred in a year when society was shaken by a series of events, such as the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the Tokyo subway sarin attack by Aum Shinrikyo, and the shooting of then-National Police Agency Chief Koji Kunimatsu, who was seriously injured in the attack targeting the chief.

Shortly after closing time, Hiromi Maeda 16 and Megumi Yabuki 17, both high school students working part-time who had stayed in the second-floor office, as well as Noriko Inagaki 47, a part-time employee, were all shot in the head with a handgun and killed.

The estimated time of the incident is around 9:15 p.m.

At that time, about 5 million yen, including the stores sales, was kept in the office safe. Although there were signs of gunfire near the safes keyhole, the cash was not stolen.

[Investigation of the Murder Weapon] A Philippine-made revolver called Squires Bingham was used in the crime. Of the three people killed, the two high school students were each shot once in the head, while Mr. Inagaki was shot twice in the head.

The handgun seized from a gang member in 2009 closely resembled the traces called rifling marks found on the bullets left at the scene when the gun was fired.

The gang member denied involvement in the incident, and although the Metropolitan Police Department sent investigators to the Philippines, where the gun was manufactured, they were unable to identify the supply route or other details regarding how the handgun was obtained.

Based on the investigation, the Metropolitan Police Department believes that the gang members are not involved in the incident.

The fingerprints left at the scene: According to investigators, more than 100 fingerprints have been collected from the scene, including fingerprints left on the adhesive tape used to tie up the two high school girls.

As a result of comparing the fingerprints with those of people with criminal records, store employees, business partners, and investigators, there are now seven fingerprints left whose owners remain unidentified.

Of these, five items were reportedly found near the route where the suspect is believed to have walked.

[Suspects acquaintance transferred for investigation...] In 2013, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police conducted an investigation after receiving custody of a Chinese-born man from Canada, where he had emigrated, following statements made by a Japanese national who had been sentenced to death in China for involvement in methamphetamine smuggling. The Japanese national told Chinese public security authorities, among other things, that an associate in Canada knows the perpetrator of the Nanpei incident.

The man was prosecuted in the past for leaving Japan using a passport under someone elses name, but regarding the Nampei incident, he said things like I dont know anything about it, and later returned to Canada.

The current investigation executives and investigators involved in the questioning at the time told NHK, There was no evidence to support the mans involvement in the case.

The information sought by the investigation headquarters is as follows: The Metropolitan Police Department has so far assigned a total of more than 226,000 investigators to the case and continued the investigation, but the case remains unsolved and they have not obtained any significant leads regarding the perpetrator.

The National Police Agency has designated this case as eligible for a public reward, and informants who provide valuable information leading to its resolution may receive up to 6 million yen in total, including rewards from private organizations.

The contact for providing information is the Special Investigation Headquarters of the Hachioji Police Station at 042-621-0110.