09-01-2002, 07:27 AM
Man, woman found slain after foreigner's tipoff
A man and woman were found stabbed to death at a building that houses a noodle shop in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward on Saturday morning after police were alerted by a telephone call from a man who gave a Chinese-sounding name, investigators said.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the caller, who spoke broken Japanese, reported around 6 a.m. that the two were injured at the shop-cum-residence.
When officers arrived at the scene, two people -- later identified as shop owner Isamu Hayakawa, 64, and his wife, Yoko, 57 -- were already dead of stab wounds to their backs and chests.
The shop and noodle factory occupy the first floor of a three-story building. The Hayakawas lived on the second floor while the top floor served as a storage area.
Investigators said Isamu Hayakawa was in his pajamas and face down on a futon in a second-floor room with seven stab wounds to his back and other places. His wife, discovered face down on the first floor, was already dressed for work and had been stabbed in the neck and chest.
A small pouch-like bag was found open nearby and had blood stains on it. All the bank notes in the wallet that was inside were missing and a container in the shop that held change was also empty save for loose change, police said, adding that they are looking into the incident as a robbery-murder.
The shutter covering the back entrance to the noodle shop was open about 20 cm, and the drawers of a chest on the second floor were open, they added.
According to police, the caller said, "You'll find a ramen shop when going left from Nishi-oyama Station. The owner's dead with blood all over him."
The call was traced to a public phone box in the Ikebukuro district of Toshima Ward, but no one was there by the time a police officer arrived, investigators said. Police are looking for the caller and believe he knows more about the crime.
Several people were quoted as telling police that they heard shouts and a woman cry for help between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m.
The Japan Times: Sept. 1, 2002
(C) All rights reserved
A man and woman were found stabbed to death at a building that houses a noodle shop in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward on Saturday morning after police were alerted by a telephone call from a man who gave a Chinese-sounding name, investigators said.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the caller, who spoke broken Japanese, reported around 6 a.m. that the two were injured at the shop-cum-residence.
When officers arrived at the scene, two people -- later identified as shop owner Isamu Hayakawa, 64, and his wife, Yoko, 57 -- were already dead of stab wounds to their backs and chests.
The shop and noodle factory occupy the first floor of a three-story building. The Hayakawas lived on the second floor while the top floor served as a storage area.
Investigators said Isamu Hayakawa was in his pajamas and face down on a futon in a second-floor room with seven stab wounds to his back and other places. His wife, discovered face down on the first floor, was already dressed for work and had been stabbed in the neck and chest.
A small pouch-like bag was found open nearby and had blood stains on it. All the bank notes in the wallet that was inside were missing and a container in the shop that held change was also empty save for loose change, police said, adding that they are looking into the incident as a robbery-murder.
The shutter covering the back entrance to the noodle shop was open about 20 cm, and the drawers of a chest on the second floor were open, they added.
According to police, the caller said, "You'll find a ramen shop when going left from Nishi-oyama Station. The owner's dead with blood all over him."
The call was traced to a public phone box in the Ikebukuro district of Toshima Ward, but no one was there by the time a police officer arrived, investigators said. Police are looking for the caller and believe he knows more about the crime.
Several people were quoted as telling police that they heard shouts and a woman cry for help between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m.
The Japan Times: Sept. 1, 2002
(C) All rights reserved