GIFU (TR) – Gifu Prefectural Police are investigating a horrifying suspected arson and fatal stabbing at a popular cake shop in Motosu City last week that left three people dead.
Among the deceased was an uninvited man found naked and severely burned in a car outside the premises, reports TV Asahi (Sep. 7).
The incident occurred around 9:00 p.m. on September 5 at Sunrise, a cake shop surrounded by farmland. Panic erupted when emergency dispatchers received frantic calls reporting, “Someone was stabbed,” “Gasoline is being spread,” and “There is a fire.”
At the time of the attack, the 66-year-old female owner of the shop was hosting a gathering of 10 former classmates in her second-floor residence above the store. Witnesses who spoke to fleeing guests said the group had been playing mahjong when the violence broke out.
Two bodies
After firefighters controlled the blaze, authorities discovered two bodies in the ruins of the building. A male victim was found on the first floor, having bled to death from a stab wound that pierced his aorta. A female victim discovered on the second floor died from acute carbon monoxide poisoning, with no noticeable external injuries.
The 66-year-old shop owner was also rushed to the hospital for treatment. Her current condition remains unknown.
The third fatality was identified as 70-year-old Hiroshi Hayashi, a funeral company executive from nearby Mizuho City. Police revealed that Hayashi was the “11th person” at the scene — an uninvited guest who was not part of the classmate reunion.
Massive burns
Hayashi was discovered in the driver’s seat of a car in the shop’s parking lot. One witness described the scene to the network, noting that Hayashi was completely naked and suffering from massive burns. The witness also recalled hearing arriving police officers aggressively questioning him, asking, “Did you stab them?”
Hayashi was transported to a hospital but later died from his injuries.
Another witness who heard the initial commotion from a distance reported hearing a man angrily shouting followed by a woman screaming, describing the violent sounds as “abnormal.”
Police strongly suspect Hayashi was the perpetrator behind the deadly arson and stabbing. Investigators are currently working to determine his motive and the sequence of events that led him to crash the gathering.
