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Tokyo Metropolitan Murders · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: The Tokyo Metropolitan murders pertained to a series of unresolved
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  homicides involving ten individuals that transpired between nineteen sixty eight
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  and nineteen seventy four in the Greater Tokyo area of Japan.
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  During the period from nineteen sixty eight to nineteen seventy four,
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  a disturbing pattern of murders and assaults, primarily targeting female victims,
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  emerged in the metropolitan regions of Chiba, Saitama, and Tokyo.
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  The perpetrator's method involved attacking and sexually assaulting women who
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  lived alone, committing these acts at midnight, and subsequently incinerating
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  their remains. The majority of the victims were in their twenties,
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  and the suspect is believed to have a blood type
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  of O negative. In total, nine cases were documented, alongside
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  two additional cases involving a suspect who was convicted but
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  later exonerated, with connections to the series suggested by the
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  similarities to the other offenses. On September twelfth, nineteen seventy four,
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  a thirty seven year old construction worker named Etsuo Ono
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  was apprehended in Kitara, currently part of Namagata on suspicion
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  of theft. He was transported to a police station in Matsudo,
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  Chiba Prefecture, where he faced intense interrogation regarding his potential
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  involvement in the murders. Given his questionable history, Ono was
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  a repeat offender who had accumulated a total of thirteen
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  years in prison due to various offenses, including theft, burglary,
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  inflicting serious bodily harm, and arson. He had been found
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  guilty of unlawfully entering a Tokyo apartment with the intent
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  to sexually assault the occupant who was asleep. His blood
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  type was O negative, which coincidentally matched that of the
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  unidentified murderer. Ono was well acquainted with the locations where
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  the murders occurred, having previously committed arson in Matsudo and Ayasi.
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  His alibi raised suspicions as he asserted that he was
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  visiting relatives or friends during the time of the homicides.
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  The perpetrator seemed to have utilized a ladder to access
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  the residences, and Ono was also known to employ ladders
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  in the execution of his crimes. Due to the circumstantial
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  evidence presented, the media hastily branded Ono as the perpetrator
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  of the crime. Among the most prominent headlines were false
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  Genius Captive Life Asahi Shimbun, Habitual Thief, calm Liar Manichi Shimbun,
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  A Devil's face behind Honesty Tokyo Times, and the silly
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  criminal Hono is the Killer Tokyo Shimbun. Additionally, there were
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  reports of an alleged victim who identified Ono as her assailant,
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  claiming she recognized him by his distinctive physical feature. However,
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  inconsistencies arose as some cases indicated that the perpetrator's blood
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  type was not O negative and the age demographics of
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  the victims varied, leading to ongoing speculation about the connection
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  among the eleven cases. In one instance, which occurred in Katsushika,
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  the investigation ultimately identified a different individual as the actual killer,
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  dispelling the initial suspicions against Ono. In March nineteen seventy five,
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  Ono reached out to the Relief Liaison Center seeking assistance
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  with his conviction, asserting that he had never committed murder.
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  In response, Kensburo Hassegawa founded the Etsuo Ono Relief Society.
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  According to shun Nakajima, a pseudonym for journalist Kenichi Asano,
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  the Chiba Prefectural Police, and various journalists conducted a thorough
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  investigation into whether Ono's family and acquaintances were of Burakumin descent,
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  aiming to avert a backlash similar to that experienced in
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  the previous Sayama incident. Ultimately, it was confirmed that no
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  such connections existed murders. Throughout the investigation, Ono's name became
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  associated with several heinous crimes. On July thirteenth, nineteen sixty eight,
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  a twenty six year old office worker was raped and
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  subsequently burned to death in a vacant lot located in
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  a Dachi. Shortly after the incident, law enforcement received an
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  anonymous tip alleging that Ono was the perpetrator. However, he
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  was never apprehended due to insufficient evidence. On January twenty sixth,
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  nineteen seventy three, a twenty two year old office worker
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  was discovered strangled and her remains incinerated in her apartment
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  in Kita. Two days following the murder, Ono was observed
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  at a nearby bar within walking distance of the crime scene.
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  On February thirteenth, nineteen seventy three, a fire was set
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  in an apartment in suginami, resulting in the deaths of
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  its occupants, a twenty two year old man and a
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  sixty seven year old woman, who were later found burned.
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  On June twenty fifth, nineteen seventy four, a thirty year
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  old housewife residing in Matsudo vanished. Her strangled body was
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  ultimately discovered at a construction site on August tenth. On
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  July third, nineteen seventy four, a nineteen year old woman
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  discip appeared after visiting a shinkin bank in Matsudo. Her
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  remains were later located at a land development site on
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  August eighth. To date, only one case related to the
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  Tokyo Metropolitan murders has been solved, while the remaining ten
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  cases continue to be classified as cold cases as their
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  statute of limitations has lapsed. After Ono's conviction for murder,
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  doubts resurfaced regarding his actual culpability. Supporters of his guilt
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  argue that his confession included details that only the true
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  perpetrator would possess.