TOKYO (TR) – In an effort to solve the murder of a female university student just prior to the 22nd anniversary of the crime, Tokyo Metropolitan Police have released 3D computer-created video showing a suspicious person outside the victim’s residence.
On the afternoon of September 9, 1996, Junko Kobayashi, a 21-year-old student at Sophia University, was bound with tape and fatally stabbed inside her residence in Katsushika Ward. The residence was then set ablaze.
Police had previously revealed that a DNA analysis of material left behind on a match box and futon concluded that the suspect is a male with blood type A.
In the 90-second 3D video issued on Thursday, a man wearing a yellow raincoat stands in front of the residence as rain pours down around the time of the incident. Measuring about 160 centimeters in height and not holding an umbrella, he looks at the two-floor residence. The clip also shows the location of the residence relative to two nearby railway stations.
According to police, the existence of the man at the crime scene is a new development based on an eyewitness report.
“No matter how small”
“I want people who see the video to remember the situation at the time it occurred,” said investigator Tatsuo Sawada. “I also want them to provide any information, no matter how small.”
Thus far, police have received more than 1,100 tips in the case, but none of them has resulted in an arrest.
A reward of up to 8 million yen is being offered for information that leads to the resolution of the case. Persons with such information are advised to call the Kameari Police Station at 03-3607-9051.
