Miyoko Sumida

Overview

Miyoko Sumida was a Japanese serial killer who killed six people in a case involving multiple suspicious deaths connected to her family and acquaintances. She was 64. Police found her dead in her cell after she died by choking herself while she was in custody and on suicide watch.

Timeline

• October 14–15, 2012 — Police discovered three corpses under the unoccupied Amagasaki home of the 88-year-old grandmother of the wife of the son of Sumida.
• October 16, 2012 — Police reported that two bodies were found under a house in Amagasaki during a search, and that police believed more than one year had passed since the two died.
• October 20, 2012 — Police and reporting identified Takashi Tanimoto and Mitsue Ando as two of three bodies found under a house in Amagasaki.
• October 22, 2012 — A condominium where Sumida lived was described as being placed for court-ordered auction.
• October 30, 2012 — A barrel filled with concrete was raised from the bottom of Hinase Harbor in Bizen, Okayama Prefecture; the barrel was believed to contain a body related to the case.
• November 7, 2012 — Reporting described police planning expected arrests connected to Hashimoto’s body and custody-related matters.
• November 25, 2012 — Reporting described the “Amagasaki incident involving a series of suspicious deaths” and detailed implicated people and relationships.
• December 5, 2012 — New charges were filed against a group of suspects for Hashimoto’s confinement and murder.
• December 12, 2012 — Sumida was found dead in her cell after choking herself; she was confirmed dead at a hospital.

The offence

Six people were found dead in connection with the case, including bodies discovered in steel drums or wrapped in blankets and hidden beneath floorboards of family properties. Police attributed a leading role to Sumida in a series of suspicious deaths connected to her relatives and acquaintances. The investigation also looked at the death in 2005 of Sumida’s husband during a holiday in Okinawa, when he fell from a cliff while the family group had their photo taken.

Police said bodies were dismembered and placed in large metal drums filled with concrete. Police also described that at least some victims were beaten and confined in a storage shed on a veranda, followed by death from starvation or dehydration, with later disposal by placing corpses in drums and filling them with concrete before dumping them into a harbor.

Alleged victim: Kazuko Oe (66)

Kazuko Oe was 66. Her body was found in November 2011 in a concrete-filled metal drum in a warehouse in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.

Sumida was charged with the murder of Kazuko Oe. In later reporting, Sumida was described as indicted on suspicion of inflicting injuries resulting in death of a woman whose body was found encased in concrete inside a drum stored in Amagasaki.

Alleged victim: Jiro Hashimoto (53; also reported as 54)

Jiro Hashimoto was 53 in reporting and was described in other reporting as 54. His body was pulled from the harbor in Bizen, Okayama Prefecture. Police suspected he had died after being physically abused at the residence of Miyoko Sumida, with his body encased in concrete and inside a steel drum.

Reporting described that police expected to arrest Sumida and others in connection with the discovery of a concrete-covered corpse stuffed inside a barrel raised from Hinase Harbor in Bizen. Police said Hashimoto was a distant relative of Sumida and died about a year prior to the discovery.

New charges were filed against a group of suspects on December 5 for Hashimoto’s confinement and murder. Reporting also described that Hashimoto was beaten and left handcuffed in a locked hut on a balcony for a week or so, and the drum containing his body was retrieved from Hinase Port in Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, on October 30.

Investigation

Police investigated a series of mysterious deaths connected to Sumida and people she was related to or acquainted with. A wider investigation began after a tip-off to police that people who had visited Sumida’s luxurious penthouse apartment in Amagasaki had subsequently disappeared.

Police also investigated the death of Sumida’s husband in 2005 during a holiday in Okinawa. Police were investigating suggestions from people who were present that the man was coerced into committing suicide.

Arrest and custody

Sumida was arrested following a tip-off that people who had visited her apartment in Amagasaki had subsequently disappeared. She was later in custody with multiple other people. Six other people, including her sister-in-law and daughter-in-law, were said to have been in custody since November in connection with the case.

In reporting on November 7, police were expected to arrest Sumida and seven others connected to the case involving Hashimoto’s body and related matters. Another reporting stated Sumida, her common-law husband, and six relatives were arrested on Nov. 7 on suspicion of abandoning the body of Hashimoto in a drum filled with concrete.

Police put Sumida on suicide watch after incidents in which she hinted she wanted to commit suicide on three different occasions.

People connected to the case

Miyoko Sumida

Miyoko Sumida was central to investigations into multiple deaths of people she was related to or acquainted with and was suspected of killing her husband to claim insurance. Police described her as the mastermind or ringleader behind the group of relatives and acquaintances connected to the violence and deaths.

In police interviews, Sumida’s relatives said they lived in an apartment with her in Amagasaki last year. They said they were forced to assault Hashimoto and then lock him in a shed on the balcony for several days until he died. Police reportedly believed Sumida intentionally made sure he died from neglect.

Kazuko Oe (66)

Kazuko Oe was the 66-year-old woman whose body was found in November 2011 in a concrete-filled metal drum in a warehouse in Amagasaki.

Jiro Hashimoto (53; 54 in other reporting)

Jiro Hashimoto was the 53-year-old (also reported as 54-year-old) man whose body was pulled from the harbor in Bizen, Okayama Prefecture and described as encased in concrete and inside a steel drum.

Mieko Sumida (59)

Mieko Sumida was 59. She was described as Sumida’s sister-in-law in multiple places. She was under prosecution and later described as indicted for theft in a separate case involving stealing 3.7 million yen in pension money from the grandmother’s account. She was also expected to be re-arrested in connection with Hashimoto’s body.

Reporting also described Mieko as acting as a treasurer within the condominium setting, and as having received insurance payouts following the accidental death of her husband in 2005.

Rui Sumida (27)

Rui Sumida was 27 and was described as Sumida’s daughter-in-law in multiple places. She was under prosecution, including for stealing 3.7 million yen in pension money from the grandmother’s account, and was expected to be re-arrested in connection with Hashimoto’s body. She was also described as having been indicted for stealing pensions.

Rui was said to be the daughter-in-law of suspect Miyoko Sumida. Reporting also stated she was on trial for theft in a separate case.

Mitsue Ando (71)

Mitsue Ando was 71. Investigators announced that one body found under the house was that of Mitsue Ando, described as the girlfriend of Miyoko Sumida’s elder brother. Ando’s corpse was found under the floor of a house in Amagasaki.

Mariko Nakashima (29)

Mariko Nakashima was 29. Her body was identified as one of the corpses found under the floor of a house in Amagasaki. She was described as an older sister of Rui Sumida, and as the eldest sister of Rui Sumida’s side. Reporting also described her as part of the group of victims connected to the events leading to bodies being found beneath floorboards.

Takashi Tanimoto (68)

Takashi Tanimoto was 68. His body was identified as one of the corpses found under the floor of a house in Amagasaki. He was described as an uncle in relation to Rui Sumida and as an acquaintance or elder brother-linked figure. Police reported bruises on the head and legs in one place, and there was unverified information that he was killed in 2003.

Sumida’s common-law husband: Yutaro Azumayori (62)

Yutaro Azumayori was 62 and was described as Sumida’s common-law husband. He was also implicated in the crimes described in reporting, although complicity was described as unclear. In one reporting, Sumida and her common-law husband and six relatives were arrested on Nov. 7.

Other allegations and related financial matters

Police reported that the family received Y90 million (reported as Y90 million / 90 million yen) in insurance and had a property mortgage written off following the 2005 death of Sumida’s husband in Okinawa. Reporting said insurance payouts were made to the junior Sumida, and that Mieko Sumida received a total of ¥90 million in life-insurance payouts from two companies after the accidental death of her husband, Hisayoshi, in 2005. It was also reported that a property mortgage was written off.

Police also investigated suggestions that the husband was coerced into committing suicide.

Reporting also described that some victims had loaned money to Sumida or had left property or other assets to her, and that other individuals were reported as missing.

Pension theft allegations

Mieko Sumida and Rui Sumida were described as being under prosecution for stealing 3.7 million yen in pension money from the grandmother’s account. Rui Sumida was said to be indicted for stealing pensions of her grandmother and her eldest son.

Suicide and final events

Police said Sumida was found this morning in her cell after choking herself. Police said she was confirmed to have been dozing in her cell until around 6am and that ten minutes later she was found to have stopped breathing. She was immediately taken to a hospital, where she was confirmed dead.

A police officer quote was attributed to Sumida on October 22: 'I want to die. How can I kill myself'

Sumida’s lawyer, Hajime Takagi, told reporters that Sumida had told him it was meaningless to continue living. Takagi said she told him: 'I won't be able to see my family. I have something I want you to convey (to them).'

Legal proceedings described

Sumida was described as being charged with the murder of Kazuko Oe. She was also described as being under investigation for suspected role in a series of other deaths.

Reporting described that she was served with a fresh arrest warrant on suspicion of killing Jiro Hashimoto, and that new charges were filed on December 5 for Hashimoto’s confinement and murder.

In other reporting, Sumida was described as indicted in December on suspicion of abandoning the body of Kazuko Oe. In February, all four except Sumida’s cousin were indicted on an additional charge of beating Oe to death and unlawful confinement, and the cousin received a prison sentence for abandoning the body.

Outcome

Miyoko Sumida died by suicide in her cell on December 12, 2012, after choking herself while she was on suicide watch.