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An American man charged with murdering a woman and dumping her body in a bay in Kanagawa Prefecture, remained silent on the opening day of his trial at the Yokohama District Court.
Gregory Joseph Gumo, 41, who lives in Yokohama, is charged with the murder of Tokyo resident Mariko Akitaya, 42, in July. He told the court Friday he has nothing to say and his lawyer entered no plea, Fuji TV reported Saturday.
Akitaya's body was found floating in Koajiro Bay, Miura, on the morning of July 29.
Gumo, who described himself as self-employed, was detained on July 29 at Haneda International Airport while waiting to board an evening flight to the U.S., and formally charged on Aug 6.
The court heard that Akitaya was found wrapped in a sheet and bound with rope and with a concrete block attached to it. There were no external signs of injury on the body which was clothed. An autopsy revealed water in her lungs and that she was drugged and then dumped in the bay.
Police discovered tracks in the sand near where the body was found, indicating that she had been dragged to the water's edge before being put in a canoe and taken out to the bay.
Police subsequently discovered that Gumo had purchased the sheet and rope prior to the murder.
Police said they heard from locals that Gumo was familiar with the area because he frequently fished there. They also learned that Gumo and Akitaya became acquainted after meeting on an Internet dating site in April.
Street surveillance camera footage also showed the two riding in a car, belonging to Gumo's wife, in the area a few hours before the woman's body was found.
Gumo and his Japanese wife have three children.
© Japan Today
30 Comments
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GalapagosnoGairaishu
Arrest to trial in just three months. I can't recall reading about the Japanese criminal justice system ever moving at such a rapid pace.
toshiko
It is obvious he is familiar with US procedure in handling criminals but this is Japan. There is no provision like 5th amendment in Japan. His wife's blanket - more he is silent, additional charge of perjury in Japani
newdaydawning
This is an example of a sub-par sociopath. The successful sociopaths are in politics.
turbotsat
Fry him. We don't want him back.
And check his backtrail. Maybe there's more victims along there.
Yubaru
It happens in relatively open and shut cases.
HongoTAFEinmate
Unemployed? That's not what he claimed when arrested. The whole three month timeline might just be because the cops have a slam dunk on this one. What the media report and what the police know are two different things. If they have him on CCTV in one location, you can bet they have a much longer daisy chain of evidence from other cameras as well. His popping over to the US as well doesn't look good. That the police picked him up at the airport indicates that he was under surveillance too boot.
TheGodfather
Apparently this is his THIRD JAPANESE WIFE so I guess there's more to this than meets they eye... :-(
HonestDictator
Supposedly the J-detectives got this one. I will be quite upset if they only give him a few years in prison if he's guilty. I hope to hear a sentence of 45+ years to life.
Polar Cities
nightclub pr guy smooth operator. his life is over now. poor wife poor kids. poor dead girlfriend. maybe he was drinking red rum.
Parasite Single
A wife and kids at home and a hot girlfriend on the side. What more could this guy have asked for? I'm struggling to come up with a motive for this horrendous crime. RIP to the victim.... nobody deserves such a horrible death for whatever reason.
NathalieB
My money is on her being pregnant :(
Regardless of the motive, this guy clearly needs to be locked away from society - any society.
skinnee
Hmmmm...
Physics aside, this guy had no game. Should have never gotten into this situation and should have never gotten caught. Made so many amateur mistakes. Now a woman is dead and kids go fatherless.
Wc626
The poor 3 kids will never be able to hold their heads high in their future in Japan. They should be sent stateside with father's parents & start over.
TheGodfather
So killed the woman and dumped the body all within a few hours, before returning home to his wife and kids???
praack
interesting, i guess he was leaving the country on business when they picked him up. which explained why he did not take his wife and children.
and i imagine the car trip with the deceased was innocent enough- he was probably interviewing her for his business in dry goods- mainly sheets and rope.
the collective shame i would feel if he had gotten away would be very great indeed. if found guilty i always felt that the punishment should reflect the crime a bit more.
canadianbento
Now there are Idiots, but this guy is a Drip head. Married three times what is the matter with this American? Let's hope he gets the ROPE!
smithinjapan
HonestDictator: "I hope to hear a sentence of 45+ years to life."
I hope he gets the max as well, and since he's a foreigner he may well get it; but I've never ever heard of 45 years. Murders here get from a suspended sentence (if it's a mom) to usually 10 years or so, if they're not beyond the statute of limitations. One the other day just got 20, but I think that was the record I've heard of. The step-dad who basically killed his kid just got six years, and so far there's no report of the mom, who helped abuse him, getting anything. So, I doubt we'll see 45 years.
As for those calling for the death penalty, I believe the 'rule of thumb', to use an outdated expression, is you need to kill two or more to get death (with exceptions based on the heinousness of the crime and lack of remorse, etc.). Why would he get more, or would anyone wish for more, than what people here usually get? I'm against the death penalty, period, so you know my stance. But just curious.
TheGodfather
My thoughts exactly!
To murder the woman and go home to the wife and kids shows he's a real hard-core SOCIOPATH... but... a real hard-core sociopath wouldn't get caught... the SAME DAY... within A FEW HOURS!!
There's something here we're not being told!!! :-(
David Blue
If he did and the evidence looks real bad he needs to be put to death. He would be a danger to the community no matter where he lives. I feel compassion for those children.
Shaniel Tinirau Sharma
How horrible for the families involved
TheGodfather
Speechless!! :-(
khulifi
Instruction from the boss ....
Polar Cities
Drinking red rum. Nobody got my joke above. Red rum spell it backwards. Old courtroom joke.
BPoint
Umm...Ya..watched The Shining many years ago. Hey,,,,All I want is the guy to be FOUND guilty...not ASSUMED guilty. The whole over the top 99% conviction rate and all that....
ArtistAtLarge
He was having an affair and killed her. What makes people so stupid? Yeah, commit murder to cover up your minor crime. No one will ever find out!
Send that murderous b****d to hell.
nath
He's lucky to have been arrested in Japan. He will do much better in a Japanese prison than an American prison. Still, his life is basically over. Sad story and sad to hear an American did this over here.
TheGodfather
It's called GOING NATIVE... :-(
bookowls
Wrong. Gumo [and his Japanese wife] had three children.
Gumo had a Japanese wife.
nath
As the children are still there, it would be: Gumo and his former wife have three children.
But as far as I know, they are still married, so the original statement is correct.
kawabegawa198
Once you are arrested by the Japanese police, you are guilty, end of story. The trial is just a farce so that Japan is taken seriously as a country. Of course, if he did it, I hope he gets strung up.