HOKKAIDO (TR) – A court here last week handed a 62-year-old woman a suspended prison term in connection with her daughter’s alleged decapitation of her lover at a love hotel in Sapporo City two years ago
On March 12, the Sapporo District Court handed psychiatrist Hiroko Tamura a 16-month prison term, suspended for four years. The prosecution had sought an 18-month sentence.
During the trial, Tamura was accused of aiding and abetting her daughter, 31-year-old Runa, in mutilating and abandoning the body of 62-year-old Hitoshi Ura in July 2023. She pleaded not guilty.
Runa has been accused of beheading Ura at around 11:15 p.m. on July 1, 2023. The following day, he was found naked and headless inside a room of the hotel.
She also packed Ura’s head in a suitcase and took it to the family’s residence where it was mutilated and filmed, prosecutors alleged.
In March, her father, 61-year-old Osamu, was acquitted of aiding and abetting the murder of Ura. However, he was convicted of lesser charges of abandoning and destroying a corpse. All told, he was handed a 16-month prison term, suspended for four years.
During Osamu’s trial, both the prosecution and the defense agreed that Runa met Ura at a nightclub in the Susukino red-light district about on month before the crime. At that time, he engaged in acts that were against her will at a hotel.
The trial for Runa has not started. The Sapporo District Court scheduled a second psychiatric evaluation for the Runa in September 2024 to determine her criminal responsibility. There is no timetable for the first hearing.
“She actively condoned the crime”
In handing down the ruling for Hiroko, presiding judge Shiro Watanabe pointed out that “the fact that the body was abandoned at her home but she did not report it to police strengthened the Runa’s psychological state.”
During the trial, the prosecution pointed out, “She provided the bathroom, a shared space for the family, as a hiding place, thereby physically aiding. When shown the mutilated head [of Ura], she said, ‘That’s amazing.’ Therefore, she actively condoned the crime and psychologically aided.”
The prosecution also said, “Hiroko knew that the act of mutilation would be filmed, but asked Osamu to do it, which enabled the filming and psychologically aided the act of mutilation.”
“Hiroko did not realize that she would be filming the mutilation”
The defense countered, “Hiroko was not in a position to approve the provision of the bathroom, and was never asked for or given permission.”
The defense went on regarding the filming, “Hiroko did not realize that she would be filming the mutilation when she asked [Osamu] to do so.”
Though Hiroko maintained her innocence over the court proceedings, she also expressed regret. The court said that it took that into consideration in handing down the suspended term.
