Police questioning 2 American men in Irish woman's death

what a strange case. it seems that the girls went willing to the hotel rooms so how can they both be arrested? arrest the 19 year-old for the murder, but the 23 year-old guy should be released. the charge on him seems to be trumped up.

I agree with you Rickyvee. It's obvious the 2 women went to the hotel willingly...the 'agressive' 19-year old just went a bit too far....unfortunately.

hmm... I don't blame the 2 guys alone.

rickyvee:

Did you read the previous article about this? It seems the girls were too drunk or drugged to do anything "eillingly".

The facts are emerging very slowly, and I'm still curious about the precise cause of death. According to earlier reports the girls were both drunk (I find this a little difficult to believe since I know quite a few Irish girls and they can all drink me under the table). It is possible that this is simply a case of a very drunk girl who asphyxiated on her own vomit, or died of alcohol poisoning.

One issue that everyone seems to be overlooking though is that these two lads thought that it was okay to take advantage of two obviously drunk young women. I know that the catchphrase in sex education is, "No means no!", but it should be, "Unless she says yes, then it means NO!". At the very least these two lads should be facing rape charges. It is simply not okay to take advantage of someone who is incapable of consent.

Frungy: read the friggin article.

It is possible that this is simply a case of a very drunk girl who asphyxiated on her own vomit, or died of alcohol poisoning.

She has strangulation marks around her neck. Someone did it so yeah holding both the guys sounds smart. You think the young lady strangled herself? I don't understand your attempt at humor at the expense of the victims nationality.

She has strangulation marks around her neck.

Probably. But I did not read that she did... anywhere. Assumption on your part?

...the 'agressive' 19-year old just went a bit too far....unfortunately.

Assumption. Just because he was standing over her does not mean he is the one who killed her. You also don't know if he went to far or if he wanted her dead.

arrest the 19 year-old for the murder, but the 23 year-old guy should be released. the charge on him seems to be trumped up.

Assumption. The 23 year old might have killed and the 19 year old might have been trying to resucitate her when found by her body.

And I will tell you another thing. I have no faith in Japanese autopsies. The autopsy rate here is a pathetic 11 percent. Given that, we have good reason to think that what few autopsies done are second rate.

spudmanMay. 29, 2012 - 08:16AM JST Frungy: read the friggin article. She has strangulation marks around her neck. Someone did it so yeah holding both the guys sounds smart. You think the young lady strangled herself? I don't understand your attempt at humor at the expense of the victims nationality.

Spudman: read the friggin article. There's no mention of "strangulation marks around her neck".

I don't see anything humorous about my comment about non-consensual sex. If you find rape funny then I suggest that you're the one with the problem.

Readers, please keep the discussion civil.

When will women learn that when a guy asks them to come back to their hotel, having a couple of drinks and a chat are not wots on the table in the guys mind. Once you agree to putting yourself in a situation where you are a lone with a guy in a room with a bed, it is just asking for trouble. Even if you think you should be able to "control" the situation, in the end a guy is physically stronger, and cannot be controlled so easily. Yes rape is wrong etc etc etc. Just stop putting yourselves in these situations!!!!

It is far to early to SPECULATE.!! This young lady 's Family have a sad task in the coming days.

Yes rape is wrong etc etc etc. Just stop putting yourselves in these situations!!!!

Um....like...um...this is about a murder?

Um....like...um...this is about a murder?

Ya that is wrong too.

So, let me get this straight, the victim's friend was sexually molested in the taxi on the way to the hotel, but both girls went into the hotel with them anyway..? not the smartest decision imo

Let me get this straight, the 23 year old guy was in another room and the 19 year old was standing next to the body? Not sure why they were both arrested, unless the 23 year old is being charged for manslaughter or something?

No you have it wrong.

The two are not arrested for the murder at the moment, the two were arrested for the taxi incident, and are now being questioned about the murder.

Frungy

According to earlier reports the girls were both drunk (I find this a little difficult to believe since I know quite a few Irish girls and they can all drink me under the table).

What a dangerous thing to say! She is Irish so you find it hard to believe she was possibly drunk and vulnerable to a man? Since when is it acceptable to make prejudiced assumptions based on a person's nationality? Isn't that what bothers non-Japanese living in Japan?

The details of this story are still emerging and it's best to wait until they do before giving your analysis. I hope the one person who cannot speak for herself will be afforded some courtesy and dignity in death. RIP Nicola.

y3chome:

" When will women learn that when a guy asks them to come back to their hotel, having a couple of drinks and a chat are not wots on the table in the guys mind. "

The original article on this stated that they were already incapacitated in the taxi, so this is definittely not a situation of going to a hotel in order to have drinks.

Ok granted not all the facts are out yet; when getting into a taxi they dont ask where it is going?

@Badge213: Thanks for the clarification.

Why didn't the taxi driver do something about this? He could drive to koban no?

Mayuki May. 29, 2012 - 10:34AM JST What a dangerous thing to say! She is Irish so you find it hard to believe she was possibly drunk and vulnerable to a man? Since when is it acceptable to make prejudiced assumptions based on a person's nationality? Isn't that what bothers non-Japanese living in Japan?

I can say this Mayuki because I'M IRISH! A standard night out at the local pub is about 10+ drinks and every Irish girl I know has been able to not only keep up with the boys, but most can drink me under the table. Ireland has a hard-drinking culture and Irish girls especially are careful about knowing their limits. These were not some Amish girls who'd never seen alcohol before, they were almost certainly familiar with alcohol.

What I'm pointing out is that they either drank a LOT or there was something else going on here, possibly date-rape drugs or something similar.

Frankly you're the one leaping to massively biased assumptions here, not me.

It seems strange that comments are focussed on the inability of the victim to defend herself. She missed her train home, and like many of us do from time to time, decided to stay out until the early morning train. None of us can point the finger of blame to the victims of this horrible crime. To suggest that a 21 year old woman went willingly to the hotel room is naive, the suspects were twice the victims size, and judging by the official police reports, were molested in the taxi already. Most likely they were in fear for their lives and thought the nightmare would end if they complied. The nationality, gender, race or religion of the victims and suspects are irrelevant.

(I find this a little difficult to believe since I know quite a few Irish girls and they can all drink me under the table).

Frungy, far be it for me to condone even prejudicial and unfair stereotyping of even one's own nation, but the above statement hardly indicates that you are anything but NOT Irish.

Your statements regarding the women are extremely unfair, because even if you are Irish, you don't know them from a hole in the ground.

@ netninja are you for real? This isn't a rape case, it's murder. The victim was strangled and therefore is unable to "cry foul". Just because the guys have abs that you would like, doesn't mean the girls were "asking for it".

NetNinka: Wow...really? Condoning guys to get with Japanes women because they are just that easy and then saying white girls will looks for ways to blame the guys. Now that is painting a picture with a broad brush. I am not sure these girls were pristine as you are suggesting either but maybe there was something that happened in the night that we don't know about.

It sounds like both of the girls were too intoxicated to really understand their situation. This may have been from drinking or the may have been drugged. Either way, they entered a taxi, at which point it sounds like they were trying to turn down the unwanted touching an attention. The taxi driver drove them to the hotel (because for all he knows, these crazy foreigners may be dating and the girls are just simply not in the mood). From there, each guy takes a girl up to his room. We can assume they were looking to action from the way they were possibly acting in the taxi, but we don't know for sure. Then, the poor girl died from asphixiation. She may have been choked on purpose, it may have been a bad sex game or maybe she choked on her vomit. But there was enough noise to warrent a complaint. The guy may have had nothing to do with her death but he sure didn't help by calling an ambulance when something was amiss.

Nice.... we get a double dose of this story, a second installment per se. The guy that cooked his genitals was big news and kind of overshadowed the "bad american" story. This one does not have as much competition now.

Readers, no further speculation please.

Just because the guys have abs that you would like, doesn't mean the girls were "asking for it".

How about taking a taxi with them to their hotel? How about entering their hotel rooms? Not absolute proof of anything, but pretty large arrows indicating the possibility that sex was on the menu. Nothing wrong with it anyway. They are human, just like us all.

But I am pretty sure neither was asking to wind up dead.

US has no jurisdiction on this case, Japan does. I hope justice will be served for this girl and her family.

I have a strong advice for Japanese prosecutors to hire good translators in this case to avoid mistrial. from beginning to the end

valued customer:

" How about taking a taxi with them to their hotel? How about entering their hotel rooms? "

You are assuming that they were sober enough to make those decisions on their own. From the information in the articles, that is not clear at all.

The story I put together from various sources was the two girls missed the last train home. The two guys told them no point in waiting all night, took them drinking and plied them with large shots of vodka until they could not even stand without help. The girls were almost unconscious as they were 'pushed' into a taxi. What happened there was caught on the taxi cam.

You are assuming that they were sober enough to make those decisions on their own.

I am not assuming anything. I replied to a statement that was assuming though, and naturally I presented the opposite possibility. Keep up please.

Facts are sparse here. But getting in a taxi with men and going to their hotel rooms remains a large indicator as I said, right up until a larger indicator appears and overwhelms it. If they were so drunk, it would be such an indicator. The testimony of the taxi driver will be the best proof of all, and I have not heard it yet.

I hope the parents of the girl can find not only justice but comfort somehow.

If police are already saying that the woman was strangled, then we have to assume there were tell-tale marks around her neck. It's too soon for an autopsy to determine cause of death.

These 2 yanks sound just awful. Should they both be hung - that is the question. Rest in Peace to the poor Irish lady.

I'm always surprised at how quickly many men find excuses to dismiss sexual crimes. I'm a guy, I've seen it my entire life. I doubt these girls wanted an evening of sexual violence.

I'm always surprised at how quickly many men find excuses to dismiss sexual crimes.

Probably about as surprised as I am that people dismiss sexual reality, female behavior and female sexuality. I also have to say I am surprised about how people will focus on rape and sexual violence rather than DEATH when both seem to be present.

But I think I know where you are coming from. I get sick real fast of men making jokes about out and out sexually abusive behavior toward women.

Very disturbing on so many levels. A talented young woman murdered defending her honour, her friend raped by young men, themselves victims of a culture that has lost its way, demeans and objectifies women.

Idiotic comments about how much Irish girls can drink; vile, baseless speculation about the girls' judgement and morals... do these define us?

An Irish village is shell-shocked, numb and mute with grief and incredulity. A family awaits the remains of their beloved daughter and sister to lay her to rest. Another Irish family is devastated by their daughter's very public rape.

Yet there will be no appetite to string 'em up in Ireland. It behoves the police to be diligent, for justice to be served.

One young life has been extinguished and three others destroyed irreparably. Let's pity them all.

Although far from surprising, I do find it disappointing as ever to see how many conclusions have been jumped to (not only by commenters but by the media) regarding this case. Considering the extremely limited amount of factual evidence/info that has surfaced so far, it's a shame that people have already seemingly formed their opinions about the case. What facts do we have?

-Two black, American male defendants (19, 23) -Two white, Irish female victims (21, 21) -One of the victims found dead with one of the defendants present in the room at the time

Aside from this, nothing has been laid out as factual thus far.

-They were members of American Rapper, Niki Minaj's entourage. (No, they were touring with a Japanese pop singer) -They molested a girl in a taxi (Still no video/photographic evidence has been released to the public. Who here knows what the legal definition for molestation is in Japan and what it implies/involves?) -The girls were drugged (Again, no evidence...just a suggested scenario) -The deceased was strangled/murdered (Again, evidence still has yet to prove this. Until now, the possible markings on the neck suggest it may have been a possibility)

One of the biggest things I find disappointing in the reporting of/reaction to this case is the slander against 23-year-old James Blackston. The deceased was found in the room of the 19-year-old male. According to accounts from police/hotel staff, the 23-year-old was not present in the room at the time (it was suggested that he was in his own room with the other girl the whole night). However, since James Blackston (23) is the only name legally allowed to be released, people have now decided to paint him as the murderer in their minds (if there even is one).

One last thing that gets me is the vilification of these two men because of their industry. We have one man (Blackston) who is a known professional dancer with a background touring with world-famous hiphop/pop artists. The second is a musician (keyboardist) who has also recently started a career touring with world-famous musicians (in this case, a famous Japanese pop artist). Hiphop industry or not, we're looking at two young men who have surely dedicated a good part of their life to honing their crafts to a point of excellence that has allowed them to reach the level they're at. Of any of the commenters here, I'd like to know if you (or someone close to you) has ever been able to reach a point in their artistic career that has allowed you (them) to not only make a living from that craft, but also to travel the world in doing so. For those who have, I'm sure you know the dedication and hard-work that is required to do so. Keep that in mind here before claiming they are victims of their own hiphop culture...

@Undercoverism,

Hiphop is a powerful force in empowering and uniting people across social and racial barriers. I didn't see anyone suggest otherwise or, indeed, that the young men were victims of their 'own' particular culture.

I understand your very real concerns for your friends. As I said, it behoves the police to be diligent, and justice to be done.

The fact remains that we are told that there were strangulation marks around Nicola Furlong's neck. Two young women have been denied their own opportunities to reach excellence and be celebrated internationally by this tragic, pointless incident.