Suspect Denies Hokkaido Girl Murder Charge in First Trial

Asahikawa, Hokkaido, May 25 (Jiji Press)–A woman suspected of killing a then 17-year-old high school girl, who died in 2024 after falling from a suspension bridge in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido, pleaded not guilty to murder in the first hearing of her lay judge trial at Asahikawa District Court on Monday. The 23-year-old defendant, Riko Uchida, denied having any intent to kill, saying that she did not push the girl off the bridge. The judgment will be handed down on June 22, after eight hearings. In its opening statement, the prosecution said the defendant picked a quarrel with the high school girl after she posted an image of the defendant on social media without permission, triggering the incident. Prosecutors further alleged that the defendant, together with a 21-year-old female acquaintance, who has been convicted of conspiring with Uchida to commit the crime, used some form of physical force to cause the victim to fall from the bridge. The acquaintance was classified as a specified juvenile under the revised juvenile law, or an 18- or 19-year-old suspect whose real name can be publicized in some cases. Meanwhile, the defense argued that when the defendant was running with the acquaintance along the bridge toward a parking lot, they heard a scream from behind followed by a loud thud, indicating it plans to contest the charges. According to the indictment, on April 18-19, 2024, Uchida is alleged to have conspired with others, including the female acquaintance, to confine and assault the high school girl, saying, “How will you make amends?” Afterward, they allegedly forced her to sit naked on the parapet of the Kamui-Ohashi bridge over the Ishikari River in the city of Asahikawa in Hokkaido and filmed her apologizing. They are believed to have caused the girl to fall into the river by shouting “Fall!” and “Just die!” to eventually kill her. Uchida is also charged with nonconsensual indecent acts resulting in death and unlawful confinement. In March last year, the female acquaintance was sentenced to 23 years in prison by the same district court, and the sentence has since been finalized. She is now serving her term. In her own trial, the female acquaintance stated that Uchida was the one who pushed the girl’s back at the end, and she is expected to testify as a witness in Uchida’s trial. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]