Man who hid corpse of murdered teacher for decades escapes justice, evades ¥42 million payout

TOKYO (TR) – A former school security guard who strangled an continues to dodge a court-ordered 42-million-yen penalty after exploiting the statute of limitations to escape a murder charge , reports HBC News (Sep. 20).

The chilling case of 29-year-old Chikako Ishikawa, who vanished without a trace in the summer of 1978, was long thought to be a tragic mystery. For decades, her family searched desperately, even suspecting she had been abducted by North Korean agents. Both of her parents passed away without ever knowing her true fate.

In August 2004, the skeletonized remains of 29-year-old Chikako Ishikawa were discovered buried 1.5 meters beneath the floorboards of a residence in Adachi Ward. The body had been wrapped in a blanket and a vinyl sheet, buried alongside her underwear and a cash card that helped police identify her.

Ishikawa had vanished without a trace in August 1978. For decades, her family hoped she was still alive.

The gruesome discovery was finally prompted by a confession from the home’s resident, a former security guard at the elementary school where Ishikawa taught. The man, who was 42 at the time of the victim’s disappearance, walked into the Ayase Police Station in 2004 at the age of 68 and told officers, “I killed a person in the past. The body is buried under my floorboards.”

However, because the 15-year statute of limitations for murder at the time had long expired, the man walked free.

Chikako Ishikawa (X)

“Trap to get me fired”

According to court documents from a subsequent civil lawsuit, the fatal encounter took place on August 14, 1978. The man, then a 42-year-old security guard at the school where Ishikawa taught, claimed they bumped into each other in an empty hallway during summer vacation. He alleged they argued, she swung a bag at him, and when she screamed for help, he panicked.

“I thought it was a trap to get me fired. I was filled with rage and frantically choked her,” the man wrote in a statement. Former colleagues fiercely disputed this characterization, describing Ishikawa as a polite, gentle woman who would have simply apologized if she bumped into someone.

Following the murder, the man buried Ishikawa beneath a tatami room in his home. He fortified the residence into a bizarre, impenetrable fortress surrounded by barbed wire, high walls, and security cameras, refusing to let delivery workers inside.

A former guard at Chiba Prison, the man later admitted he feared being incarcerated in a facility where he had once worked. “I thought it would be better to die than be locked up there,” he wrote, explaining his refusal to turn himself in. He managed his guilt by closing his eyes and chanting to himself, “You have done nothing. You have nothing to fear.”

The man’s 26-year silence only broke because of a local redevelopment project. Facing a forced eviction and the demolition of his home, he realized excavators would inevitably uncover the bones. He confessed out of sheer self-preservation.

“Greatest memorial service”

Furious that the killer had essentially gotten away with murder, Ishikawa’s surviving family members filed a civil lawsuit, demanding he be held accountable. The Supreme Court ultimately ordered the man to pay 42.55 million yen in damages.

Shortly after the civil trial began, he legally divorced his wife on paper. He also relocated to a quiet town in the Kanto region with his wife. He lived in a fortress-like home surrounded by high walls and equipped with 12 security cameras.

Further, because the house was placed entirely in his “ex-wife’s” name, the man claimed he had zero assets and was incapable of paying the compensation.

Refusing to let the killer walk away unpunished, Ishikawa’s brothers, Ken, 58, and Masatoshi, 55, filed the civil lawsuit in 2005.

“What we can do now is get a judgment in a civil trial to make him atone. That is the greatest memorial service we can offer,” Ken Ishikawa said at the time, desperate to learn the facts behind his sister’s death.

The Tokyo District Court initially dismissed the family’s suit, citing the 20-year civil statute of limitations on claiming damages. However, the High Court reversed the decision, ruling it was grossly unfair to apply the statute since the killer’s concealment of the body meant the family had no way of knowing a murder had taken place.

The High Court ordered the man to pay 42.55 million yen in damages. In April 2009, the Supreme Court finalized the ruling, rejecting the killer’s appeal that he no longer held liability.

“In addition to clearing my sister’s regrets, I strongly felt that we would absolutely not allow him to just get away with this,” Masatoshi told reporters following the final ruling.

“I’ll beat you, you bastard”

He showed no remorse when confronted by the media. When a reporter for the network asked why he hadn’t turned himself in sooner, the man raised his cane and threatened the journalist, shouting, “Get out of the way! None of your business! I’ll beat you, you bastard.”

Despite the family’s legal victory, the killer never once appeared in court to face them, instead choosing to stay behind his walls and continue his daily routine of walking his dog.

Published in Crime and News

The editorial team at The Tokyo Reporter brings the site's readership the latest news from the under side of Japan.

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东京（TR）——据HBC新闻（9月20日）报道，一名勒死一名学生的学校保安利用诉讼时效逃脱了谋杀指控，目前仍在逃避法院判处的4200万日元罚款。

1978年夏天，29岁的石川千佳子神秘失踪，这起令人毛骨悚然的案件长期以来被认为是一桩悲剧谜案。几十年来，她的家人苦苦寻觅，甚至怀疑她被朝鲜特工绑架。她的父母最终也未能得知她的真实下落便去世了。

2004年8月，29岁的石川千佳子的遗骸在首尔足立区一处住宅的地板下1.5米处被发现。尸体被毯子和塑料布包裹着，与她的内衣和一张帮助警方确认身份的银行卡一同埋葬。

石川于 1978 年 8 月神秘失踪，杳无音讯。几十年来，她的家人一直希望她还活着。

最终，这起骇人听闻的案件因屋主的供述而告破。此人曾是石川任教的小学的一名保安。受害者失踪时，他42岁。2004年，68岁的他走进绫濑警察署，告诉警察：“我以前杀过人。尸体就埋在我家地板下面。”

然而，由于当时谋杀罪的 15 年诉讼时效早已过期，该男子被无罪释放。

石川千佳子 (X)

“这是个陷阱，目的是让我丢掉工作”

根据后续民事诉讼的法庭文件，这起致命事件发生在1978年8月14日。当时42岁的男子是石川任教学校的保安，他声称暑假期间两人在一条空荡荡的走廊里相遇。他指控两人发生争吵，石川挥舞着一个包砸向他，当她尖叫求救时，他惊慌失措。

“我当时以为这是个陷阱，目的是让我丢掉工作。我怒火中烧，疯狂地掐住了她的脖子。” 这名男子在一份声明中写道。他的前同事们强烈否认了这种说法，称石川是一位礼貌温柔的女性，如果她不小心碰到了别人，只会道歉。

谋杀发生后，这名男子将石川埋葬在他家的一间榻榻米房间下。他将住所加固成一座怪异的、坚不可摧的堡垒，周围环绕着铁丝网、高墙和监控摄像头，拒绝让送货员进入。

这名男子曾是千叶监狱的狱警，后来他承认自己害怕被关进曾经工作过的监狱。“我当时觉得，与其被关在那里，不如死了算了。”他写道，以此解释自己拒绝自首的原因。为了排解内心的愧疚，他闭上眼睛，默念着：“你什么都没做错。你没什么好怕的。”

这名男子26年的沉默最终被打破，是因为当地的一项重建项目。面临强制搬迁和房屋拆除的困境，他意识到挖掘机迟早会挖出那些骸骨。为了自保，他选择了坦白。

“最伟大的追悼会”

石川的遗属对凶手逍遥法外感到无比愤怒，提起民事诉讼，要求追究其责任。最高法院最终判决该男子赔偿4255万日元。

民事诉讼开始后不久，他就正式与妻子离婚。之后，他和妻子搬到了关东地区一个僻静的小镇。他住在一栋戒备森严的房子里，房子四周高墙环绕，并安装了12个监控摄像头。

此外，由于房子完全登记在他“前妻”的名下，该男子声称自己没有任何资产，无力支付赔偿金。

石川的兄弟，58 岁的 Ken 和 55 岁的 Masatoshi，不愿让凶手逍遥法外，于 2005 年提起民事诉讼。

“我们现在能做的就是通过民事诉讼获得判决，让他赎罪。这是我们能提供的最好的纪念方式，”当时，急切想要了解妹妹死亡真相的石川健说道。

东京地方法院最初驳回了家属的诉讼，理由是民事诉讼时效为20年，无法追究损害赔偿责任。然而，高等法院推翻了这一判决，认为适用诉讼时效极不公平，因为凶手藏匿尸体的行为导致家属根本无从得知谋杀案的发生。

高等法院判令该男子赔偿4255万日元。2009年4月，最高法院最终裁定，驳回了凶手提出的免除赔偿责任的上诉。

“除了消除我妹妹的遗憾之外，我也强烈地感到，我们绝对不能让他逍遥法外，” 最终判决后，Masatoshi 对记者说。

“我会揍你，你这个混蛋！”

面对媒体，他毫无悔意。当一名记者问他为什么不早点自首时，他举起拐杖威胁记者，吼道：“滚开！关你屁事！我要揍你，你这个混蛋！”

尽管家属在法律上取得了胜利，但凶手却从未出庭与他们对质，而是选择待在自己的房子里，继续他每天遛狗的日常活动。

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