Overview
- Prosecutors on June 26 sent four 16-year-old boys to the Utsunomiya Family Court on charges that include robbery-murder and attempted murder after the May 14 attack in Kaminokawa in which a 69-year-old woman was stabbed to death.
- Investigators say the youths were recruited with promised payment by intermediaries and that a Yokohama couple accused of directing on-scene actions have been arrested on related robbery-murder charges.
- Police allege a suspected mastermind offered about ¥40 million to organize the attack and left Japan via China toward Cambodia, and authorities have asked INTERPOL to seek his arrest.
- Evidence cited by the joint Tochigi–Kanagawa probe includes messages exchanged on a high-secrecy messaging app and statements by suspects that investigators say contained instructions to kill if occupants were present.
- The case moves first through juvenile procedures under family court rules that can lead to transfer to criminal court if prosecutors request it, and the investigation raises concern about adults exploiting minors for violent, commissioned crimes.