Flashback ’06: Dental Assistant by Day, Hostess by Night—The Double Life Behind a Shocking Murder

“I planned to cut the body into pieces and hide it.”

What did “FRIDAY” report 10, 20, and 30 years ago? In this edition of Playback Friday, we revisit stories that made headlines at the time. This time, we look back at the June 2, 2006 issue featuring “From Oiso: Dental Assistant Who Worked as a Hostess at Night Sent Promotional Emails to Customers and Went Drinking with Friends Even After the Murder — The Deranged True Face Behind the Decapitation.”

On May 11, 2006, the brutally stabbed body of office worker Masato Ishikawa (pseudonym, 29) was discovered in an apartment in Oiso Town, Kanagawa Prefecture. The victim was found lying face down wearing only a T-shirt and underwear, and at first appeared to have suffered a massive wound to the neck. Upon closer inspection, however, investigators discovered that his head had been severed.

Two days later, police arrested Maki Hasumi (pseudonym, then 26), the apartment’s tenant and Ishikawa’s live-in partner, near JR Chigasaki Station.

“Around April 30, I stabbed him to death while he was sleeping. A few days later I returned to the apartment and cut him up with a kitchen knife. I intended to dismember the body and hide it.”

This was the statement she reportedly gave during questioning.

Who was this woman, and what drove her to commit such a horrific crime? The following article explores her background and personality. (Passages in 《 》 are quoted from the original article, and titles are as they were at the time.)

Even after the murder, Hasumi reportedly acted as though nothing had happened, maintaining a cheerful demeanor around those who knew her.

《”Long time no see! How have you been?”

Although she worked as a dental assistant during the day, Maki Hasumi also worked as a nightclub hostess at night. Even after the crime, she continued sending promotional messages like this to her regular customers.

A male acquaintance recalled, “At the beginning of May, I went drinking with her and two or three other people. She was talkative and seemed to be having a great time.”》

People who knew her during her school days consistently described her as someone who never stood out. According to those interviewed, Hasumi had lived a remarkably ordinary and unassuming life until the events that led to the crime.

“Oh, that girl with the curly hair.”

《”When everyone heard about the case, they couldn’t remember who she was at first. Then someone finally said, ‘Oh, that girl with the curly hair.’

I once saw her get punched hard by an upperclassman because she had spoken badly about them.” (Middle school classmate)

“She was a quiet, plain girl. From her second year of highschool, she started missing classes frequently. She was an avid fan of Johnny’s idol O and even followed him around. There were rumors that she sneaked into the school he attended.” (High school classmate)

She was usually quiet but seemed to have a somewhat eccentric side. After graduating from high school, she began working as a dental assistant in Oiso.

“She was extremely careful and professional at her job. In fact, I was treated by her on the very morning the body was discovered. She carried out her work calmly and without any sign of distress.” (One of her patients)

Although she disappeared that afternoon after the body was found, she had gone about her work as if it were an ordinary day.》

Hasumi reportedly began working about twice a week at a hostess club in Atsugi around two years before the incident. According to one of her coworkers, “She was tall and slender, looked great in a dress, and had a decent number of regular customers.” While working as a dental assistant during the day and at the hostess club at night, she was also reportedly looking for nightlife jobs with even better pay and conditions.

She met Ishikawa around 2004 at the hostess club where she worked, and the two had been living together for about a year. At one point, they had even promised to marry.

Regarding her motive, Hasumi reportedly told investigators, “He wouldn’t contribute to our living expenses, and whenever I complained, he would immediately become violent.” In fact, those around them said their relationship had deteriorated shortly before the incident.

《”Around last autumn, the two had a huge fight that shattered the window of their apartment, prompting police to respond. On the night just before the incident, we could hear them arguing again.” (Neighbor)》

A woman who had once planned to marry the victim ultimately not only killed him but allegedly intended to dismember and dispose of his body. Was her hatred toward him truly that profound?

It was a carefully planned crime

Subsequent police investigations and court proceedings revealed that Hasumi had carried out the murder with cold calculation and premeditation. Although she wanted to end her relationship with Ishikawa, she believed he would not let her leave easily and therefore decided to kill him. She reportedly purchased a kitchen knife about two weeks before the incident.

At around 4:20 a.m. on May 1, she stabbed the sleeping Ishikawa in the neck. When he woke up and tried to get up, she stabbed him several more times in the neck and back, killing him. Sometime between May 7 and May 10, she severed his head. She allegedly intended to dismember the body and transport it elsewhere, but before she could finish the task, the body was discovered.

The motive was reportedly financial strain. Debt she had accumulated from consumer finance companies and other lenders to cover their living expenses had grown to approximately ¥3 million. Resentment toward Ishikawa—who allegedly did not work and was physically abusive—continued to build. In addition, around three months before the murder, Hasumi had reportedly begun an affair with a younger customer and was frequently returning home in the morning, leading to constant arguments between the couple.

At her trial, which began on July 28, 2006, at the Odawara Branch of the Yokohama District Court, Hasumi admitted the charges against her. In March 2007, the court sentenced her to 13 years in prison, describing the crime as cold-blooded, brutal, and inhumane.

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