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Shiga prefectural police have identified the remains of a man found in a suitcase retrieved from Lake Biwa in Hikone City as a murder victim from 14 years ago.
An 83-year-old man found the partially opened suitcase, with half its top missing, at around 2:15 p.m. on May 17. He saw a skeletonized arm protruding from it and contacted a local government office which sent an official to confirm the report. The official then called police.
The remains were wrapped in a silver sheet. After a DNA analysis, the victim was identified as Takao Izawa (then 38), a dental clinic manager from Osaka City, who was murdered in 2007, Sankei Shimbun reported.
Three men, including Izawa’s former business partner, conspired to murder the victim by drugging him with an energy drink laced with the anesthetic ketamine. Izawa was then strangled to death at his office in Suita City, Osaka Prefecture.
The three were arrested and convicted of murdering Izawa in 2008 and are still in prison. They told police they dumped the body in the lake but police were unable to find the suitcase at the time.
© Japan Today
11 Comments
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Sven Asai
Nice, another cold case finally now completely solved.
WilliB
WA4TKG
I think you are mistaking this with the story about the kid went fishing in a pond and caught a dead body instead.
albaleo
I think that was a different story. Not at Biwa-ko.
https://japantoday.com/category/crime/boy-hooks-skeletal-remains-while-fishing-at-pond
Sal Affist
Why murder a dental clinic manager? I cannot imagine the practice was that lucrative. Perhaps he realized his partner was cooking the books or skimming off the top, and that led to them removing him. At least his family can now have a funeral and have some closure.
Sven Asai
@smithinjapan Just read it again… (conspired, drugging, strangled, They told police they dumped the body in the lake… etc) Summed up, this implies confessing the murder. Or does their talking sound in your ears like having organized for that clinic manager a funny birthday party only? lol
Michael Machida
Wow! This is scary.
WA4TKG
Didn’t this story (from two days ago) say a KID found the suitcase ?
Goodlucktoyou
Yips, I sometimes go swimming in Biwako. Mostly snorkeling.
smithinjapan
Just out of curiosity, how'd they know he was murdered if they had no body?