Man assaults ex-wife, fatally stabs her mother in Sapporo

Ouchi had contacted the police on Sunday, telling them that Shirakawa had been calling her and sending her multiple messages. The police then contacted Shirakawa by phone, warning him to stay away from Ouchi.

The police in this country are useless. They should have arrested him then.

Police said Shirakawa told them he would comply with their instructions.

And they believed him. Idiots. Pure idiots.

So sad . But murder could have been prevented by police if they were doing their jobs. For sure the messages sent and a small investigation would have showed he deserved prison sentence.

Women are not protected from family feuds. If I was a woman and had this type of guy in my life, I would do the necessary myself.

Actually, this is one of those unfortunate cases that happened too quickly for the police to have been able to prevent it. The woman contacted police for the first time on the day of the murder to complain about her ex-husband's behavior. I can only guess but most likely she asked them to warn him off and they did. They could only have arrested him if she were willing to file a complaint. The chances are that as soon as he hung up after to talking to the police, he became enraged and went over to his ex-wife's place.

So everyone, please don't be too hard on the police. If the woman had repeatedly consulted with them about her ex-husband's behavior, that would be different. But it appears that wasn't the case, unless there is more to the story than what is written here.

Sad story and i guess he will be jumping off a building or in front of a train shortly.

Brainiac,

So everyone, please don't be too hard on the police. If the woman had repeatedly consulted with them about her ex-husband's behavior, that would be different. But it appears that wasn't the case, unless there is more to the story than what is written here.

Well it seems like the woman had been consulting the police for a year on multiple occasions, according to Japanese news. The first time she consulted the police was January LAST YEAR. She had also called 110 before although I am not sure what happened at that time.

They should have arrested him then.

On what charges? If ,calling and sending messages is enough to arrest someone then please have the cops arrest the sales-type critters who send me spam messages and call my home.

Bringing him in for a warning or warning him was justified, and maybe there was something else the cops could have done, looking in retrospect to what ended up happening, yet is messaging someone and calling them enough to arrest them?

fishy

Yes, I just saw some info on that on NHK. But apparently, she didn't file a complaint, so unfortunately, the police could not arrest him.

Most people don't realize that stalking is a powerful form of addiction, much stronger than substance addiction. The fixation with the object of one's addiction is far more powerful than being told no, or being given a warning by the police. I can imagine the ex-wife saying to the police something like, "Well, I don't want to get him into trouble. Can't you just tell him to leave me alone?"

How did he get into the house? Or did the attacks take place outside? I'm a firm believer in doors and locks strong enough to keep an intruder at bay until help arrives.

They all look the same. That shaved eyebrow bosuzoku boy look.

"Shirakawa and Ouchi had divorced in 2015 due to reasons including domestic violence, police said. Shirakawa had, however, continued to pursue his former wife on a number of occasions after the split."

And the police know this, but did nothing beyond call and warn him, as usual taking the would-become murderer's word for it, and as usual are finally acting AFTER a murder has taken place.

Sorry, brainiac, you may want to give the cops a pass on this, but as with many others I'm sick of them waiting until a preventable death occurs until they do anything.

"Yes, I just saw some info on that on NHK. But apparently, she didn't file a complaint, so unfortunately, the police could not arrest him."

She called the police on numerous occasions -- if that is not a form of complaint, and fear for one's safety, what is? In all likelihood they scared her away from making a formal complaint, promising that they would simply 'keep an eye out' and call him, because a formal complain would mean having to get out from the koban and DO something BEFORE someone even died! Even if there is no formal complaint, but someone is often calling to talk about a stalker or someone threatening them, the police should be responsible for doing something about it and ensuring that either the people are safe, or else if it is prank and paranoid calling that the person be held responsible for the calls.

Nothing changes, so we get to read about this kind of thing again and again and again.

smithinjapan

You need to learn something about the law. Yes, she called the police in January and June but there is nothing in any Japanese story to indicate that she filed a complaint against Shirakawa. So under the law, all the police could do was warn him off. Calling the police is not a formal complaint as you seem to think.

Furthermore, the police do not have the manpower to park outside her house all day, every day, or keep an eye on the ex-husband all day every day either.

The police are not to blame in this case, unless, and it's a BIG unless, the victim filed a criminal complaint and they did not act on it. But so far, that has not been shown to be the case.

I just helped my wife's co-worker move into another apartment this last weekend after divorcing her abusive husband. I do worry about her and her two kids. I told her when I left, never let him inside. I hope she got the message.

Its not the police's fault that they are powerless. They have follow rules and abide by Japanese laws. The laws need to change, and quicky since this is happening too often. And Japan should do more about protecting victims of DV/Stalkers period.

He looks like another gutless little manga-haired punk that's never had a fight in his life, except for beating on women and children. The 'black van' description is pretty vague. Surely the police must have more info on him. I doubt if he will show up dead. He wouldn't have the guts to take his own life. With so many of these creepy manga-haired punks running around its no surprise that 50% of women under 35 want to remain single. Hope they find him soon.

i'm sure many of you want to protect women, but the police just can't go around throwing every guy in prison based on a complaint or a calll to the koban. evidence needs to be collected and a formal complaint made. there are some wacko ex-wives out there, too , who would just love to screw with their ex-husbands.

Should also be charged for that bouffant hairdo.

Not a good look lads!

Second murder in two months in Sapporo. Not a good start to the year.

very unfortunate incident...

Perhaps many Japanese would be much happier in America. Millions of Japanese should come to America. Japan is too crowded, limited resources, limited and expensive health services, limited law enforcement services, limited crisis intervention counseling, limited substance abuse programs, limited mental health and social services.

Man assaults ex-wife, fatally stabs her mother in Sapporo

He`ll turn himself in before long. They usually do

Aly Rusdom;

" The police in this country are useless. They should have arrested him then. "

That is easy to say with hindsight. However, do you seriously want the police to arrest people pro-actively for crimes they MIGHT commit? Really?

The police called him! Really, that's all? Even though no formal complaint was made, at least go knocking on his door. News like this should be learnt from the cops. I am not saying that if they did visit him the outcome would of been different, but just a phone call, especially knowing that there was a history of domestic violence.

Crazy!!! I really wonder how the Japanese police are trained in handling domestic disputes the ex husband should have been picked up right away. And what a weak minded coward to be hitting on a woman. Then stab her mother to death. Smh. Sad. Very sad.

The police should've at least given him a verbal warning IN the station

Any comment about a father and his son stolen away? Sad story for the Boy....

The police should've at least given him a verbal warning IN the station

How would they go about it? Please come to the station so I can verbally tell you to stay away from your wife. If he says "no, I'm not going," what then?

I think I saw a couple of similar news reports like this before and most of them ended up with unfortunate consequences. Can they prevent them from occurring? At any rate, I urge the police to achieve early arrest of the suspect.

Hope the seriously wounded woman will get back on her feet soon. And I pray for the healthy growth of the 1-year-old son. RIP for the mother.

Had that been the US the first phone call he would have been in the slammer! All a women has to do is call and leave the house and the police will go arrest the guy!! Threats are perceived as being real, you are damned if you do and damned if you don't so in the US do neither!!! In Japan well its a daily story!!!

Misunderstood:

" The police in this country are useless. They should have arrested him then. "

And that is not overkill in the other direction? A single phone call means a jail sentence? On what law? How many years? And are you saying the US does not have case of stalking and assault by stalkers? Really? Any source for that?

I think some people have an almost superstitious belief in the powers of the police.

@Brainiac

Most people don't realize that stalking is a powerful form of addiction, much stronger than substance addiction. The fixation with the object of one's addiction is far more powerful than being told no, or being given a warning by the police.

You should replace "Most people" with "Japanese police".

I can imagine the ex-wife saying to the police something like, "Well, I don't want to get him into trouble. Can't you just tell him to leave me alone?"

I doubt a young women already abused by this guy would be worried about getting him into trouble. Unless the police convinced her into leaving it at that, which is entirely possible. In the end, it is the responsibility of the police to protect, and they have failed yet again despite numerous warnings, even on the same day of the attack.

hitting on a woman

I think you mean 'hitting a woman'. Hitting ON a woman means something very different.

I get that some men can find it hard to let go of a relationship, especially if it's initiated by the woman and not something he wants. I'll readily admit that I do some, shall I say, lightweight stalking of my ex. Like looking her up on social media. But I get bored or distracted after awhile and move on. But then some men just cannot and will not let go.

Any comment about a father and his son stolen away?

Uh...no? Maybe because the father was violent and she did the right thing by taking (not stealing) the boy away. Yes, too many women do claim domestic violence falsely in this country. But considering his subsequent actions, that is rather obviously not the case here.

Assault, murder fleeing a crime and what can also be taken as kidnapping seems pretty much a life sentence to me if caught and convicted.

@WilliB If you call the police, they must come to investigate your complaint. The police should talk to you and the abuser separately and, if at all possible, should talk with you out of your abuser's sight and hearing. In order for the police to make a decision to arrest, they need to find what is called probable cause that a crime was committed. That means that they must have enough evidence to believe that the person committed a crime by harming or threatening you. This evidence can be a combination of things - any injuries you may have, your statement of what happened, taped 911 calls or emergency calls to police, damaged property, torn clothes or any statements of neighbors, children or other family members. What you say counts as evidence, so the statement you give to the police is very important. Read your statement carefully and if there is anything in it that is incorrect, don't sign it. Ask the officers to change the written statement so that it matches what actually happened. Sign it only when it says what you want it to say. Police are required to give you a copy of the investigating officer's report whether or not an arrest is made, so be sure to get one. You can ask to add to it later it you remember something you forgot to tell them, and you can add photographs of bruises and copies of medical reports, if you get them.

If the police find that your abuser committed a felony against you, they must make an arrest. Felonies are the most serious crimes that can be charged. An example of a felony in a domestic violence case would be Assault in the Second Degree, a charge that could be made if the assault resulted in serious physical injury like a broken bone, or a wound from a weapon, and created "substantial pain" that lasted over a period of time. Usually, the injuries from a felony level assault require medical attention and/or hospital care.

If the police find that a Family Offense misdemeanor has been committed against you, state law requires arrest unless you ask the police not to arrest. (The law also says that the police are not allowed to ask you whether they should make an arrest.) Even if you ask that an arrest not be made, many police departments will still make an arrest if they have evidence of a crime. An example of a misdemeanor is Assault in the Third Degree, which also requires an injury (more than a bruise) and substantial pain. Another example of a misdemeanor is Aggravated Harassment, which is when you are threatened or harassed over the telephone or by mail.

Many domestic violence cases involve violations, such as Harassment in the Second Degree. Harassment happens when your abuser verbally threatens you with harm, slaps you or pushes you, but doesn't cause an injury. The police must see this happen in order to make an arrest unless you decide to make the complaint yourself, which is called making a civilian arrest. In many areas, the police will help you with this and will actually take your abuser to the police station. In some areas in violation cases, the police will give you information on how to get the court to take some action against him, but will not transport your abuser to the police station or court. If this is not the first time your abuser has threatened you with harm, pushed or shoved you, or if you are afraid of future harm, be sure to tell the police. If your abuser has harassed or threatened you more than once, this may give the police the evidence they need to charge Harassment in the First Degree or Menacing, both misdemeanors. This allows them to make the arrest and take your abuser into custody without you having to make a civilian arrest.

He should have just went his own way. But his ego and anger got the best of him. If he indeed have a " BEST ".