HOKKAIDO (TR) – On July 2, 2023, Hokkaido Prefectural Police made a grisly discovery inside a room of a love hotel in Sapporo City: the decapitated corpse of a man.
Three weeks later, police found the head of the man at the Atsubetsu Ward residence of a family, three of whom were then taken into custody.
As the investigation unfolded, police learned that Runa Tamura, 30, was the ringleader of the crime. She has been accused of murder, mutilation of a corpse and other crimes.
Runa had met the victim, a 62-year-old cross-dresser, in the Susukino red-light district of Sapporo. Her apparent motive was that he engaged in unprotected sex with her a month before.
She is alleged to have killed the victim during an SM session at the hotel by repeatedly stabbing him in the neck with a folding knife. After killing him, she decapitated him with a saw or other tool.
Runa then hid the head in a suitcase and took it to the home in a car driven by her father, 60-year-old Osamu, who is psychiatrist. Once home, she peeled off the skin of the head with a blade and removed the eyeballs.
She also asked her mother, 61-year-old Hiroko, to film the mutilation of the head.
The trial of Hiroko began this past June. Earlier this month, the fourth hearing was held.
As is apparent from what follows via the court proceedings thus far, the case is a sordid tale of revenge and turmoil within a family that ended in a most extraordinary crime.
“I only found out about the damage to the head after it was brought into the house”
The first hearing for Hiroko, who has been accused of aiding in the abandoning of a corpse and aiding in the mutilation of a corpse, was held at the Sapporo District Court on the afternoon of June 4, according to TBS News (June 9).
She is said to have allowed Runa to hide the man’s head in the home. She is also accused of agreeing to Runa’s request that she to take a video of the head mutilation in that she allowed it and asked Osamu to do it.
In denying the charge of aiding and abetting the abandonment of a body, she said, “I only found out about the damage to the head after it was brought into the house. So, it’s not true that I allowed it to be hidden. When I found out, it was already in the bathroom. It was so abnormal that I couldn’t say anything to my daughter, couldn’t blame her, couldn’t accept it and couldn’t say anything.”
Regarding the videotaping, she said, “There is a difference between carrying out the videotaping and approving it. I wasn’t told what exactly we were going to film. I couldn’t bear it, so I asked my husband to film it out of a desire for help. I had absolutely no intention of helping with the crime, and I had no intention of helping with the desecration.”
She also tearfully denied the charge of aiding in the mutilation of a corpse.
The defense also said that Hiroko was aware that Runa had left the victim’s head in the bathroom of her home, but had not made any statements to indicate approval, so no crime was committed.
She also claimed innocence, saying she had not heard about the plan to desecrate the head while filming, and had only vaguely asked Osamu to film it, and that Osamu had filmed it without touching the head.
After this, both the prosecution and defense both pointed out the distorted parent-child relationship and Runa’s motive for killing the man, which was that he had sex with her without a condom, and this led to trouble.
The prosecution pointed out that Runa not only planned not only to kill the victim but also to dismember and play with the body, and that Osamu approved and cooperated.
In response, the defense holds the view that Osamu is not guilty of aiding and abetting murder. They argue that both parents only knew that Runa and the victim were engaged in an SM fantasy, and that they only found out about the murder when Runa brought the head home.
“I’ll kill everyone”
At 11:00 a.m. on October 1, the fourth hearing for Hiroko was held. During the session, six hours of audio recordings of Runa were submitted by her lawyer. After which, Osamu, whose trial is yet to begin, appeared in court as a witness, according to STV (Oct. 1).
In some of the recordings, Runa speaks to her father in English. She also refers to a person named “Cynthia” as her sister.
In a recording from October 6, 2020, Runa yells abuse at her father in English, saying things like, “I want to kill you,” and “Why don’t you follow my orders?”
Runa says in Japanese on January 22, 2023, “I’m going to get a little stronger and kill you guys. That’s what I’ve always thought, my sister and I!”
That same day, she says, “I’ll kill everyone! That’s all!” Osamu responds, “I don’t kill any.”
Runa adds, “You’re not even taking responsibility! Just hurry up and do it, you idiot!”
She says in Japanese in an apparent reference to the murder victim on June 1, 2023, “The other person thinks that he is at my mercy, so I made him think that, but I am the one in control.” She goes on, “I thought it would be like a contest of endurance because I could pretend to be a bitch as far as I could go. But I don’t look like that kind of girl, don’t you think?”
“Runa’s soul”
The defense then questioned Osamu.
Defense: “In one of Runa’s statements, she said ‘my sister.’ Did she have a sister?”
Osamu: “No.”
Defense: “Who is her sister?”
Osamu: “Runa. Runa’s soul.”
Defense: “Who is the subject of the conversation that says, ‘I killed my sister!’?”
Osamu: “I think Cynthia is the main character. There are many other souls, but Cynthia is the main character.”
Defense: “Who does Cynthia’s soul want to kill?”
Osamu: “Me and Hiroko. Cynthia thinks that Runa’s soul died because of our response.”
Defense: “Have you ever been harmed by Runa?”
Osamu: “No.”
Defense: “Did she ever wave a knife or a kitchen knife around?”
Osamu: “Not directly at us.”
Defense: “Regarding the fact that you were forced to take photos of [the victim’s] head, could the photo session have been postponed?”
Osamu: “He only had one eye left, and although it was Friday evening, I had to leave for a business trip to Kansai first thing the next morning. If I returned on Sunday night, I would be away for two days, and I thought I would have to ask Hiroko to take the photos. Just thinking about this kind of damage was enough to send shivers down my spine, and Hiroko could not bear it. It may sound rude, but I thought, ‘It would be better to end this quickly.'”
“I hoped that he wouldn’t be found”
On the night of July 1, 2023, Osamu drove Runa by car to Susukino, looking for the victim. In security camera footage, Osamu is shown inside a club several meters from Runa and the victim.
Defense: “What did you want from the victim?”
Osamu: “I thought that if she confronted him and there was an apology, [the situation] could be repaired. I thought that if he didn’t apologize, that would be the end of it.”
Defense: “What were your thoughts when you looked for the victim?”
Osamu: “I hoped that he wouldn’t be found, and that she would give up on it.”
Defense: “I don’t think you know anything about the victim, so how did you look for places where he might be?”
Osamu: “I didn’t get any personal information from him at all. I heard his nickname and that he often goes to clubs for older people on weekends, so I looked for him based on those conditions.”
Defense: “When [Runa] went to look for the victim, she called him ‘Shika'(deer) on the Line chat app. How did she start calling him Shika?”
Osamu: “When we were looking for the victim, neither my daughter nor any of the family knew him, so calling him by his nickname didn’t sound good to my daughter. I guess she thought there was another way to call him. My daughter asked me to call him Shika just before we left.”
“This time I’ll be the attacker”
Prior to the crime, Runa purchased various equipment, including knives and handcuffs. Osamu purchased a suitcase and saws at her direction. Osamu and Runa also practiced SM together in preparation.
Just before 11:00 p.m., after meeting in the club, Runa and the victim went to the love hotel. Once inside the hotel, she pretended that they would play out an SM fantasy. After he put on an eye mask and handcuffs, she began filming with a camera.
“The thing you need to reflect on most is breaking your promise to me,” she said before stabbing him to death with a knife whose blade was 8.2 centimeters long.
After decapitating him with a saw, she put the head inside a suitcase, which was later packed into Osamu’s car. He then drove home.
Defense: “Who was the one who started talking about SM practice?”
Osamu: “From my daughter. After making an appointment with the victim, my daughter practiced, saying, “I was attacked last time, so this time I’ll be the attacker.”
Defense: “How long did it take?”
Osamu: “I think it was at most 1-2 minutes.”
Defense:” Specifically”
Osamu: “I was sitting upright, with my hands handcuffed behind my back and wearing an eye mask, and my daughter approached me from behind, touching me here and there. I remember her asking me how it felt and interacting with me.”
“How many dolls can fit in a black suitcase?”
Osamu’s Internet search history for on June 25, 2023 shows that he researched the purchase of a large black suitcase. During questioning, he said it was to be used for Runa’s doll collection, which numbers over 100.
Defense: “Did Osamu search for “suitcase load capacity 100 kg” and “suitcase load capacity 50 kg”?”
Osamu: “I don’t remember exactly, but I was asked to look up what could fit in it, so did I type it in myself…or click it…?”
Defense: “How many dolls can fit in a black suitcase?”
Osamu: “I think 20-30 can fit in.”
Defense: “What about 70-centimeter tall ones?”
Osamu: “I think about 15 can fit in.”
Defense: “How much do they weigh?”
Osamu: Each one weighs 4-5kg, so if there’s no cushioning or anything, it should weigh about 50-70kg.”
Defense: “Were you told to clearly film the destruction?”
Osamu: “I was told to film without being told what was inside [the bathroom].”
Defense: “At what point did you realize that the mutilation [of the head] would occur?”
Osamu: “I took the camera to the bathroom, and when I was shown the damaged bottles and other things, and was told that the eyes were still in the head, I thought that the mutilation would occur. I didn’t know until I got to the bathroom.”
Osamu did in fact shoot the video. At one point, Runa used a colander, a hanger and an S-hook to hang the skin from the head in the bathroom. She said via Line, “I want you to see my work.”
