Yasunori Suzuki

Yasunori Suzuki (1969 - August 2, 2019) was a Japanese serial killer who robbed and killed three women in Fukuoka Prefecture in little over a month between December 2004 and January 2005. He was sentenced to death for his crimes, and executed in 2019.

Yasunori Suzuki
Born1969
Nōgata, Fukuoka, Japan
DiedAugust 2, 2019(2019-08-02) (aged 49–50)
Fukuoka Detention House, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka, Japan
Cause of deathExecuted by hanging
Conviction(s)Murder x3
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
Victims3
Span of crimes
2004–2005
CountryJapan
State(s)Fukuoka
Date apprehended
March 10, 2005

Murders

On December 12, 2004, at around 23:40, 18-year-old vocational school student Nana Kubota was walking in a park in Iizuka, when she was attacked, raped and strangled with her scarf. The killer tried to steal her wallet, but was frightened off by passer-by.

On December 31st, at around 7 o'clock, 62-year-old seasonal worker Toshiko Onaka was stabbed in the chest and back with a kitchen knife on the streets of Kitakyushu, with her assailant stealing her bag and wallet, containing 6,000 yen. Onaka would later die from her injuries.

On January 18, 2005, at around 5:30, 23-year-old office worker Keiko Fukushima was attacked at a park in Fukuoka's Hakata-ku ward. The assailant originally planned to rape her, but refrained from the idea due to fear of being seen by a passer-by. He then stabbed Fukushima to death with a kitchen knife, stealing her mobile phone, purse and bag, which jointly contained around 46,000 yen.

On March 8th, the investigators received a signal one of the victims' phones, which was being used in Nōgata. They tracked down the signal and caught the criminal red-handed trying to embezzle a business. He had been using the phone for a dating service. The man, 35-year-old Yasunori Suzuki, was arrested two days later on suspicion of committing the murders.[1]

At the time of the murders, Suzuki was in debt of a total of 8 million yen, accumulated from drinking, gambling at pachinko machines and paying for online dating services, following a failed marriage.

Trials

First instance, Fukuoka District Court

On June 29, 2006, days after the prosecution finalized its argument, the prosecuting Fukuoka Public Prosecutors Office demanded a death sentence for the accused.[2]

On November 13, 2006, the Fukuoka District Court, headed by Justice Hiromi Suzuki (no relation), officially sentenced Yasunori Suzuki to death.[3][4] A week after his sentence was announced, he lodged an appeal to the Fukuoka High Court.[5]

First appeal, Fukuoka High Court

On February 7, 2008, the appeal trial was held at the Fukuoka High Court, headed by Justice Katsuhiko Masaki. He ruled in favor of the original sentence, effectively dismissing Suzuki's appeal.[6][7]

On February 20th, the final trial was to begin before the court of cassation branch of the Supreme Court.[8]

Final appeal, Supreme Court

The Supreme Court trial was headed by Justice Kiyoko Okabe, who set the trial to begin on February 8, 2011.[9]

On said date, the defense counsel claimed that the death penalty was "too heavy and unjustified, as [the murders] were not a planned offence." While not against the idea of dropping the death sentence, the prosecutor's office demanded the defendant and defense counsel withdraw the appeal, saying that the vicious crimes that took the lives of three innocent people for the purpose of stealing money was appalling. After that, on February 18th, Justice Okabe notified that the verdict would be announced on March 8th.[10]

On said date, Justice Okabe formally rejected the appeals from both the previous trials, effectively finalling Suzuki's death sentence.[11][12][13]

Suzuki would later file a petition to Okabe for a retrial, but on March 25th, his petition was rejected.[14] Two days later, he was sent to death row to await execution.[15]

Execution

On July 31, 2019, then-Minister of Justice Takashi Yamashita officially signed Yasunori Suzuki's death warrant, set to take place at the Fukuoka Detention House.[15] Just two days later, on August 2nd, the 50-year-old Suzuki was finally executed.[16] On that day, 64-year-old Koichi Shoji was also executed at the Tokyo Detention House for two murders he committed in Yamato, Kanagawa. They were the two of three criminals executed in the country for that year.[17]

See also

References
  1. "Nogata man arrested as suspect in the Hakata-ku female robber-murder by Fukuoka Prefectural police". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). March 10, 205. Archived from the original on March 12, 2005. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  2. '3 death sentences for murdered of women: 'Brutal violator chose the weak' (June 29, 2006) Yomiuri Shimbun [in Japanese]
  3. Fukuoka District Court (2006) [in Japanese]
  4. '3 Death sentences for a man who killed a woman in Fukuoka, decision by Fukuoka District Court' (November 13, 2006) Tokyo Shimbun [in Japanese]
  5. 'Murderer of 3 women, Suzuki, appeals to the Fukuoka High Court' (November 21, 2006) Yomiuri Shimbun [in Japanese]
  6. Fukoka High Court (2008) [in Japanese]
  7. 'Defendant in murder of three women sentenced to death at second trial before the Fukuoka High Court' (February 7, 2008) Chunichi Shimbun [in Japanese]
  8. 'Defendant in Fukuoka threefold murders appeals again' (February 22, 2008) Yomiuri Shimbun [in Japanese]
  9. 'Fukuoka threefold murderer's death sentence trial before the Supreme Court' (November 11, 2010) Yomiuri Shimbun [in Japanese]
  10. 'Fukuoka women murders: Supreme Court will decide verdict on March 8th' (February 9, 2011) Mainichi Shimbun [in Japanese]
  11. Supreme Court Trial (2011)
  12. 'Defendant in the Fukuoka threefold murders's death sentence appeal dismissed' (March 9, 2011) Tokyo Shimbun [in Japanese]
  13. "The murderer of the three women in Fukuoka's death sentence appeal was dismissed". Nihon Kenzai Shimbun (in Japanese). March 8, 2011. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  14. 'Suzuki, the murderer of the three Fukuoka women, had his death sentence confirmed' (March 29, 2011) Tokyo Shimbun [in Japanese]
  15. "Outline of the Extraordinary Press Conference by the Minister of Justice" (in Japanese). 法務省（法務大臣：山下貴司）. August 2, 2019. Archived from the original on August 10, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  16. "The Ministry of Justice has executed two men: the Kanagawa housewife murderer and the Fukuoka threefold murderer". Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). August 2, 2019. Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  17. "Announcement of execution of two death row inmates: the Kanagawa housewife murderer and the Fukuoka threefold murderer will be the Reiwa Period's first". Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). March 8, 2011. Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
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