Post by Linalin on Jan 19, 2005 14:40:24 GMT -5
HEGURI, Nara -- A 7-year-old girl was found murdered in a ditch here, only hours after her mother received an e-mail from her daughter's phone saying, "Your daughter is mine," police said.
Law enforcers said a 64-year-old man phoned them at about 12:05 a.m. on Thursday, saying he had found a girl lying in a ditch in Heguri.
Police who arrived at the scene identified the girl as 7-year-old Kaede Ariyama from Nara. She was already dead at the time of her discovery.
Investigators said Kaede had gone missing on Wednesday after she left school at about 1 p.m.
At about 2 p.m. an elementary school student in Kaede's neighborhood reportedly saw a man talking to her and making her get into a car near her house.
Officers launched an investigation into Kaede's disappearance before her 28-year-old mother Eri received an e-mail from her daughter's cell phone that simply said, "Your daughter is mine."
The ditch in which Kaede was found was about 30 centimeters deep. It did not contain any water. She was foaming at the mouth, but police did not find any external wounds on her body, and her clothes appeared to be intact. Police said it was possible the girl had been murdered at a separate location and dumped at the scene.
Both the girl's school bag and cell phone were missing, police said. When her mother contacted Kaede on her mobile phone at about 1:40 p.m. on Wednesday, the girl reportedly told the mother, "I'm near school."
They arranged to meet up at the school, but Kaede failed to show up, and she did not respond to calls made to her cell phone, so her mother went home. She then asked friends to help her look for her daughter, but they failed to find her, so she contacted police at about 6:45 p.m.
At about 8 p.m. Kaede's mother received the e-mail saying, "Your daughter is mine."
Earlier this month a suspicious man who appeared to be aged about 40 was seen in Nara calling out to an elementary school student traveling to school. A man was also reported trying to get another young student to climb into his car, prompting officials at the school Kaede attended to send a warning to caregivers.
Local residents who learned of the murder said Kaede had got on well with others, and was always cheerful in the morning when she traveled to school. Only recently her 30-year-old father Shigeki had taught her how to ride a bicycle.
Other residents in the area where Kaede was found were worried by the news of the killing.
"I've got a young child as well," said one 34-year-old resident. "It's worrying for something like this to happen."
Kaede's school informed caregivers about the incident on Thursday morning, before gathering students to explain the situation. Police have set up a headquarters to investigate the murder. (Mainichi and wire reports, Japan, Nov. 18, 2004)
Gruesome murder similar to Net postings
November 22 2004 at 11:35AM
Tokyo - The killer of a seven-year-old Japanese girl appeared to have fantasies of torturing a popular cartoon character as gruesome details of the murder are similar to postings on the Internet, a report said on Monday.
Schoolgirl Kaede Ariyama was found dead in a ditch last week in the western city of Nara hours after her mother received her picture on her mobile telephone with the message, "I've got your daughter."
The media have reported grisly details of the murder, such as that the culprit, who remains at large, plucked out several of the girl's teeth and that the recovered body was covered with wounds.
A daily newspaper said police were "seriously interested" in messages on an Internet bulletin board that shared fantasies about torturing the main character of the children's cartoon "Cardcaptor Sakura".
The cartoon, aired weekly on public broadcaster NHK, features elementary school girl Sakura collecting magical cards.
"I want to yank the teeth of little Sakura with pliers or break them," said one Internet message.
"I want to lick little Sakura's plucked teeth in my mouth," said another message, as quoted by a tabloid.
Other postings fancied drowning the cartoon heroine, quoting one message as saying: "It would arouse me if she tearfully cries for help as I put her in a tank and pour water little by little."
A police autopsy found that the girl was drowned. Reports have said water in her lungs was not muddy, suggesting she was drowned in a bathtub or somewhere else indoors.
A police spokesperson was unreachable for comment on the report.
News reports said the mobile telephone message received by the girl's mother was sent from the victim's own cellphone and showed her after she had already been attacked, with her eyes closed and lying on a sofa.
The girl went missing after leaving school and her body was discovered by a passerby in a roadside ditch.
Law enforcers said a 64-year-old man phoned them at about 12:05 a.m. on Thursday, saying he had found a girl lying in a ditch in Heguri.
Police who arrived at the scene identified the girl as 7-year-old Kaede Ariyama from Nara. She was already dead at the time of her discovery.
Investigators said Kaede had gone missing on Wednesday after she left school at about 1 p.m.
At about 2 p.m. an elementary school student in Kaede's neighborhood reportedly saw a man talking to her and making her get into a car near her house.
Officers launched an investigation into Kaede's disappearance before her 28-year-old mother Eri received an e-mail from her daughter's cell phone that simply said, "Your daughter is mine."
The ditch in which Kaede was found was about 30 centimeters deep. It did not contain any water. She was foaming at the mouth, but police did not find any external wounds on her body, and her clothes appeared to be intact. Police said it was possible the girl had been murdered at a separate location and dumped at the scene.
Both the girl's school bag and cell phone were missing, police said. When her mother contacted Kaede on her mobile phone at about 1:40 p.m. on Wednesday, the girl reportedly told the mother, "I'm near school."
They arranged to meet up at the school, but Kaede failed to show up, and she did not respond to calls made to her cell phone, so her mother went home. She then asked friends to help her look for her daughter, but they failed to find her, so she contacted police at about 6:45 p.m.
At about 8 p.m. Kaede's mother received the e-mail saying, "Your daughter is mine."
Earlier this month a suspicious man who appeared to be aged about 40 was seen in Nara calling out to an elementary school student traveling to school. A man was also reported trying to get another young student to climb into his car, prompting officials at the school Kaede attended to send a warning to caregivers.
Local residents who learned of the murder said Kaede had got on well with others, and was always cheerful in the morning when she traveled to school. Only recently her 30-year-old father Shigeki had taught her how to ride a bicycle.
Other residents in the area where Kaede was found were worried by the news of the killing.
"I've got a young child as well," said one 34-year-old resident. "It's worrying for something like this to happen."
Kaede's school informed caregivers about the incident on Thursday morning, before gathering students to explain the situation. Police have set up a headquarters to investigate the murder. (Mainichi and wire reports, Japan, Nov. 18, 2004)
Gruesome murder similar to Net postings
November 22 2004 at 11:35AM
Tokyo - The killer of a seven-year-old Japanese girl appeared to have fantasies of torturing a popular cartoon character as gruesome details of the murder are similar to postings on the Internet, a report said on Monday.
Schoolgirl Kaede Ariyama was found dead in a ditch last week in the western city of Nara hours after her mother received her picture on her mobile telephone with the message, "I've got your daughter."
The media have reported grisly details of the murder, such as that the culprit, who remains at large, plucked out several of the girl's teeth and that the recovered body was covered with wounds.
A daily newspaper said police were "seriously interested" in messages on an Internet bulletin board that shared fantasies about torturing the main character of the children's cartoon "Cardcaptor Sakura".
The cartoon, aired weekly on public broadcaster NHK, features elementary school girl Sakura collecting magical cards.
"I want to yank the teeth of little Sakura with pliers or break them," said one Internet message.
"I want to lick little Sakura's plucked teeth in my mouth," said another message, as quoted by a tabloid.
Other postings fancied drowning the cartoon heroine, quoting one message as saying: "It would arouse me if she tearfully cries for help as I put her in a tank and pour water little by little."
A police autopsy found that the girl was drowned. Reports have said water in her lungs was not muddy, suggesting she was drowned in a bathtub or somewhere else indoors.
A police spokesperson was unreachable for comment on the report.
News reports said the mobile telephone message received by the girl's mother was sent from the victim's own cellphone and showed her after she had already been attacked, with her eyes closed and lying on a sofa.
The girl went missing after leaving school and her body was discovered by a passerby in a roadside ditch.
