EXCLUSIVE: Tochigi Murder-Robbery Suspect Tried to Flee to S. Korea

Yokohama, May 21 (Jiji Press)–A key suspect in last week’s high-profile robbery-murder case in Japan’s Tochigi Prefecture apparently attempted to flee to South Korea after the incident, Jiji Press learned Thursday. The suspect, Kaito Takemae, 28, allegedly directed four 16-year-old boys to carry out the robbery and murder at a house in the town of Kaminokawa in the eastern prefecture. He was taken into police custody shortly before his planned flight to Seoul at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in the early hours of Sunday, according to investigative sources. On Thursday, the Tochigi prefectural police raided the apartment of Takemae and his 25-year-old wife, Miyu, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. Investigators believe that a “tokuryu” ad hoc anonymous crime group is involved in the case, suspecting that Takemae played his part under a superior member. They will also work to identify why Takemae attempted to travel to South Korea. The couple and the four high school students have been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to kill Eiko Tomiyama, a 69-year-old resident of the house, during a robbery May 14. The sources indicate that Takemae met the four boys at an expressway rest area shortly before the incident, providing them with crowbars and other weapons and assigning their roles. Of the four, three committed the robbery while receiving instructions from Takemae in real time. The remaining one acted as a lookout. After the incident, the couple left Tochigi by car. However, police learned that Takemae was alone at Haneda Airport late on Saturday. Investigators located him at the departure gate of Terminal 3 before dawn on Sunday, just dozens of minutes before the boarding started for the Seoul-bound flight. Some of the boys told investigators that Takemae threatened to kill their families if they failed to commit the crime. Takemae has denied the allegations against him, saying that the case “has nothing to do with us,” according to the sources. On the premises of Tomiyama’s house, a pet dog was found dead, apparently killed by perpetrators in the case for fear that it would bark. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]