IBARAKI (TR) – A 29-year-old man on trial for stalking and murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend in Mito City told a court last week that he committed the brutal crime because he wanted to “erase her existence and hit reset,” reports Nippon News Network (Sep. 17).
Takumi Ouchi is accused of killing 31-year-old Haruka Komatsumoto, a manicurist who had recently opened her own nail salon. At the time of the fatal attack on New Year’s Eve last year, Komatsumoto had married another man and was five months pregnant.
During defendant questioning on September 17, Ouchi revealed that Komatsumoto was his first and only girlfriend. They met about three years ago when he was a customer at her workplace. After she ended the relationship, he became dangerously obsessed.
“I tried to forget her by throwing myself into work, but I couldn’t,” Ouchi told the court. When asked by his defense why he resorted to murder, he replied, “I wanted to erase her existence, go back to before we met, and reset.”
Hunted for her whereabouts
Over a six-month period, Ouchi relentlessly hunted for Komatsumoto’s whereabouts. In court, he admitted to being self-aware of his stalking tendencies, claiming he even researched the psychology of stalkers and consulted a clinical psychologist for two months. However, after failing to secure a psychiatric appointment due to a fully booked clinic, his frustration boiled over. By October — two months before the incident — he decided to kill her.
To locate his ex-girlfriend, Ouchi employed a chillingly calculated method using Bluetooth anti-lost tracking tags. He first hid a tag inside a stuffed animal and left it at the entrance of Komatsumoto’s parents’ home. When she unknowingly took the toy to her new residence, Ouchi gained her approximate location.
Because the tag’s GPS had a 10-meter margin of error, Ouchi attached a second tracking tag to a nearby vehicle he suspected belonged to her. When the tracking data showed the car traveling back to her parents’ home, he knew he had successfully pinpointed her address.
“I thought if I missed this chance, I’d just be going around in circles,” Ouchi testified. “I made up my mind to absolutely carry it out that day.”
Disguised as a delivery worker
On December 31, Ouchi arrived at her home disguised as a delivery worker. When Komatsumoto answered the intercom, he attacked her, striking her in the head. “I didn’t know if she was dead or alive, so I decided to use a kitchen knife to finish her off,” he told the court.
Ouchi claimed he was completely unaware of his ex-girlfriend’s marriage and pregnancy until he saw it on the news. “I was like, ‘No way.’ If I had known she was married and pregnant, I don’t think I would have gone that far,” he said.
Prosecutors highlighted Ouchi’s cold demeanor following the fatal attack. When asked how he spent New Year’s Day, the day after the murder, Ouchi casually replied, “Same as always. Stayed home, went out.” He also admitted to looking up and visiting a sex worker shortly after the killing.
When pressed by the presiding judge about his feelings toward the victim, Ouchi responded, “I am truly sorry. I don’t expect to be forgiven, but I want to convey my feelings… remorse, just remorse.”
