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Miyoko Sumida, 7 others to be arrested in death of man discovered in drum in Okayama

Miyoko Sumida, 7 others to be arrested in death of man discovered in drum in Okayama
An early photo of Miyoko Sumida
TOKYO (TR) – Hyogo prefectural police on Wednesday are expected to arrest Miyoko Sumida and seven others in connection to the discovery of a concrete-covered corpse stuffed inside a barrel raised last week from the bottom of Hinase Harbor in Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Nov. 7).

The barrel, retrieved on October 30, was confirmed to contain the body of a 54-year-old Jiro Hashimoto, who police suspect died after being physically abused at the residence of Miyoko Sumida, the central figure in a continuing investigation related to multiple suspicious deaths.

Miyoko Sumida, 64, was previously indicted for the death of 66-year-old Kazuko Oe, whose body was discovered last November encased in concrete inside a drum stored in a warehouse in Amagasaki City, Hyogo. She is accused of inflicting injury resulting in death. Sumida is expected to be re-arrested for the dumping of Hashimoto’s body.

According to police, Hashimoto, who is a distant relative of Sumida, died about a year ago.

On October 14 and 15, police discovered three corpses under the unoccupied Amagasaki home of the 88-year-old grandmother of the wife of the son of Sumida. Sumida’s sister-in-law, 59-year-old Mieko Sumida, and daughter-in-law, Rui Sumida, 27, are under prosecution for stealing 3.7 million yen in pension money from the grandmother’s account.

Investigators later announced that one body found under was that of Mitsue Ando, 71, the girlfriend of Miyoko Sumida’s elder brother. The other two corpses are Mariko Nakashima (29), the older sister of Rui Sumida, and 68-year-old Takashi Tanimoto, whose elder brother was an acquaintance of Miyoko Sumida.

Both Mieko and Rui Sumida are also expected to be re-arrested in the dumping of Hashimoto’s body. Included among the other five suspects are Nakashima’s 42-year-old husband and Masanori Ri, 38, Miyoko Sumida’s cousin who is serving a prison sentence in the death of Oe.

Ri is alleged to have masterminded the encasing of Hashimoto’s corpse in concrete with the other suspects assisting in the body’s disposal.

Police also revealed in October that following the accidental death of the 51-year-old husband of Mieko Sumida during a sightseeing trip to Cape Manza in Okinawa in 2005, payouts of 90 million yen for insurance policies and a home mortgage exemption were made to the junior Sumida.

On July 1, 2005, a group of nine people, including both Miyoko and Mieko Sumida, their relatives, and friends, gathered for a photo session at the edge of a 30-meter cliff overlooking the ocean. While standing in the back of the group, the victim reportedly dropped to his death.

According to the Sankei Shimbun (Oct. 29), police are currently investigating the insurance payout as a matter of fraud as witnesses have said that the man, who is the older brother of Hashimoto, was coerced into committing suicide.

In 2000, a condominium, also located in Amagasaki, was purchased in the name of Mieko Sumida’s husband. A loan of 29.8 million yen was taken out for the purchase, with Ando, who was found under the Amagasaki home, as one guarantor. Mieiko Sumida later paid off the loan in full.

Investigators believe that more people seen regularly around the Amagasaki home are still missing, including the 88-year-old grandmother, who police have been told was buried at the home of a relative in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture. She has not been seen since 2003.