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The original was posted on /r/unresolvedmysteries by /u/emelotius on 2024-01-06 02:56:04+00:00.
I've thought a lot about this case. This poor family. I can't stop thinking about how terrible the last few minutes of their lives were. It's not just the cruelty that shocks me, but also the thought that Yasuko and Niina were probably aware that their father/husband and brother/son had just been murdered. The panic they must have felt as they tried to escape the attacker. It's all so unimaginably horrible.
I wonder if a psychological profile of the perpetrator has ever been done. I think this would really help solve the case.
These are my thoughts on it:I think the perpetrator broke into the house with the intention of killing the whole family. That's why he had knives with him. Also, you can assume that 10 p.m. is a time when at least the parents are still awake. Perhaps the murderer even saw that there were still lights on in the house. If he wanted to steal something from the house, he would have waited until he was sure that everyone was asleep so that he could break in undetected. It almost seems as if he wanted his victims to witness their murder and suffer. That is also one reason why I think a murder for hire is unlikely. In this case, he would probably have killed the family in their sleep. The way he killed the family was random. He had no way of knowing exactly what would happen in the house. (I think it's obvious that it wasn't murder for hire; I just wanted to mention that again.)
I personally think that the perpetrator was a psychopathic, violent teenager.I don't think the idea that a teenager who is angry at the world would be capable of such an act of violence is far-fetched. Being a teenager is hard. The development of the brain is not yet complete. There are many biological, emotional, and social factors that can lead to aggression and violence. (If you want to know more, I put some links down below.) Teenagers commit more violent crimes than you would think. Just think about all the school shootings. Besides, I think it is important to note that there were several acts of violence committed by minors in Japan at that time.The murders were the latest in an unusual string of violent acts perpetrated by minors in a country that hadn’t experienced a high level of youth crime. The start of the year 2000 marked a worrying trend.“ Faceless Podcast (Episode 6, 18:10–18:24) I will also link to a few articles about that topic below. They are very interesting, and I would really recommend reading them.Perhaps he was inspired by one of these acts of violence. I don't think there's any great motive behind it. He just wanted to kill someone. There may be several reasons why he chose the family as his victim. Perhaps he himself comes from a difficult family situation and has seen a happy family, which triggers something in him. Maybe he had some mental illness like schizophrenia or something like that. In this case, a quick glance from one of the family members or a laugh as they walked past would be enough to trigger him.One of the articles below mentions the murder of three members of the Iwasaki family by a 15-year-old boy in August of the same year. (Btw, I can hardly believe how little has been reported about this case.). The murders are not even mentioned on Wikipedia's list of serious crimes or somewhere else on Wikipedia. He killed them because of „accusing looks” by the neighbour and his family. It was later reported that he allegedly suffered from serious behavioural disorders and mental problems.Because there are a few similarities between the cases, I just wanted to mention this again to show that there is a good chance that the perpetrator in this case was also a minor. In addition, there are, of course, several indications that point to a younger perpetrator.
- The estimated age of the perpetrator (15–35 years)
- His fitness and strength (climbing up a tree, the killings)
- his clothes
- the way he behaved at the crime scene and his careless behaviour after the killings.
Another point that I think is very important is the fact that he didn't know for sure if he would succeed in killing all the family members. He had no way of knowing if Mikio or the other family members would fight back or how hard they would fight back, if Mikip had a weapon that he could have used, if anyone would escape, or if the grandmother or some people walking in the park would hear something and alert the authorities.
That can mean two things for me. Either he thinks he's invincible in some way and overestimates himself, or he didn't care if his plan would work and he would be caught. Arrogance and hubris would explain his behaviour at the crime scene. The amount of evidence he leaves behind almost seems like he's mocking the police and the victims. Especially the faeces in the toilet and the fact that he stayed longer in the house and that he ate there show how sure he was that he would not be caught. I mean, he even left his clothes behind, almost as if he's saying, ,I can leave as much evidence as I want and do what I want, and you won't get me anyway‘. I'm not an expert, but perhaps this is also a symptom of his mental illness. A strong overestimation of yourself and the belief that you are superior to others can be symptoms of certain mental illnesses, such as delusions of grandeur or psychosis. I am aware that it is not possible to deduce a mental illness from this fact alone. I just thought I would mention the possibility. I think that so far there has been far too much focus on the motif, the clothes, and things like that. I don't think the perpetrator put much thought into his clothes. The sand in his bag doesn't really mean anything. I often buy my clothes from second-hand stores. It's quite possible that traces of other previous owners will be found. My guess is that the perpetrator is someone who may even have lived close to the family home. Someone who lived within walking distance. Given his actions, he is most likely proud of them and has bragged about them.Even if he didn't tell anyone in person, he told them somewhere online.I firmly believe that the case can be solved by taking a closer look at young locals who showed mental health.problems or committed other crimes at the time.
Articles and other publications about adolescence, puberty, and violence: Biological/Spear%20LV%20%20(2000).pdf
Crimes against minors in Japan:
Violent juvenile crimes in Japan point to a deeper social crisis.
Japans Troubling Trend: Rising Teen-Age Crime