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Video shows damaged violins – and whole lot more – in Aichi residence

Midori Kawamiya
Midori Kawamiya has been accused of destroying the violin collection of her ex-husband (Twitter)

AICHI (TR) – A video showing the damage allegedly inflicted by a 34-year-old Tokyo woman upon her former husband’s violin collection reveals the extent of the crime far exceeded the destruction of his instruments, reports the TBS News (July 26).

Sometime between the morning of January 30, 2014 and the evening of February 19 that same year, Midori Kawamiya, a Chinese national living in the capital’s Koto Ward, allegedly trespassed into the residence of her former husband, a 62-year-old national of Norway, and smashed 54 violins and 70 bows valued at 105.9 million yen.

The video shot inside the premises shows damage to multiple pieces of furniture, a piano splattered with liquid, a smashed camera, defaced wedding photographs, various items (suitcases, clothing and documents) strewn about the floors and the destroyed musical instruments, including smashed violins and guitars.

An ominous message was scrawled on a wall of a room. “The children came to play,” it read. “From your wife.”

According to the Nakamura Police Station, Kawamiya, who has been accused of trespassing and causing property damage, admits to entering the residence but denies destroying the instruments.

During the incident, the victim was away from his residence on a business trip. He and his wife were living apart and undergoing divorce proceedings.

The damaged violins were made by the suspect’s former husband or collected by him. One of the instruments, made in Italy, was valued at around 50 million yen.

Regularly visits China

Kawamiya sells musical instruments. For work reasons, she regularly visits China. On July 24, police arrested her upon her arrival back in Japan following a trip to China.