HOKKAIDO (TR) – A court here last week handed a 61-year-old man a suspended prison in connection his’s daughter’s alleged decapitation of her lover at a love hotel in Sapporo City two years ago, reports TV Asahi (Mar. 12)
On March 12, the Sapporo District Court handed psychiatrist Osamu Tamura a 16-month prison term, suspended for four years. The sentence was well short of the 10-year term sought by the prosecution.
During the trial, Tamura pleaded not guilty to allegations of aiding and abetting murder and aiding and abetting the destruction of a corpse.
Tamura was accused of assisting his daughter, 31-year-old Runa, in beheading Hitoshi Ura, 62, at around 11:15 p.m. on July 1, 2023. The following day, Ura was found naked and headless inside a room.
The court concluded in its ruling that “it cannot be determined that the defendant knew in advance that [his daughter] would kill the victim” regarding aiding and abetting murder.
Both the prosecution and the defense agreed that Runa met Ura at a nightclub in the Susukino red-light district about on month before the crime. At that time, he engaged in acts that were against her will at a hotel.
Saw and suitcase
According to the indictment, Tamura purchased a saw and suitcase used in the crime and provided them to his daughter. He also drove her to and from the hotel where the crime occurred.
The defendant then allowed her to keep the head at his home. On July 7, he videotaped Runa mutilating the head, which she had brought home in the suitcase.
In their closing argument on February 18, the prosecution pointed out that Tamura knew about the plan a full two weeks before the incident.
“Runa’s plan was well thought out to kill the victim by herself,” the prosecution said, “and assistance was essential. The crime would not have been committed if defendant Osamu had not purchased the murder weapon.”
Meanwhile, the defense pointed out, “There is no evidence to suggest that he knew about Runa’s intent to kill in advance.”
Tamura maintained that he “became aware of the crime after it had already occurred.”
However, Tamura was considered culpable for lesser charges of abandoning and destroying a corpse.
The court recognized the fact that the head was kept in the home as “aiding and abetting the abandonment of a corpse.”
Further, the court recognized the videotaping as “aiding and abetting the destruction of a corpse.”
Runa is facing murder and other charges. Runa’s mother, Hiroko, is also on trial on charges including aiding in the abandonment of a corpse.
