“She Changes Completely When She Drinks…” The “True Face” of Suspect Miyuki Furukawa, the Nurse Arrested in the “Feces Mixed into IV Drip” Incident

Brown Substance Found in IV Extension Tube

The Chiba Prefectural Police arrested Miyuki Furukawa (51), a former nurse at Kashiwa Tanaka Hospital—a general hospital in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture—on July 15 on suspicion of murder. She is accused of mixing feces into the IV drip of a hospitalized patient, causing the patient’s death from multiple organ failure resulting from sepsis.

The incident occurred in the early hours of January 30 of this year. A male nursing assistant on rounds discovered a 75-year-old male patient in the internal medicine ward who had turned pale and was in distress; the patient was pronounced dead at 10:30 p.m. on the following day, January 31.

A hospital staff member who suspected something was amiss visited the Kashiwa Police Station on February 1 and reported , “A hospitalized patient whose condition suddenly deteriorated on January 30 has died. There is a possibility that a foreign substance was mixed into his IV drip.” This prompted the police to launch an investigation. A brown-colored substance was discovered remaining inside the IV extension tube, which should normally be clear.

As a result of a forensic autopsy and analysis of evidence, bacteria found in feces were detected in the victim’s body, and the cause of death was determined to be multiple organ failure resulting from sepsis.

At the time of the incident, two staff members were on duty in the ward where the victim was hospitalized: suspect Furukawa, who was the head nurse on the night shift, and the male nursing assistant who discovered the incident.Although Suspect Furukawa was not the victim’s assigned nurse, she was in a position of authority that allowed her access to the victim. It is believed that she murdered the victim by somehow introducing feces into the IV tube during her shift, causing bacteria to enter the victim’s bloodstream.

The victim was paralyzed from the waist down and had difficulty walking on her own, but was reportedly able to eat and converse normally. Police are conducting a thorough investigation into whether there were any conflicts between the two, the motive for the crime, and the identity of the person whose feces were introduced into the IV line.

“My tracksuit was flushed down the toilet”

Suspect Furukawa held licenses as a nurse and midwife and had been working at Kashiwa Tanaka Hospital since January ’25, but she voluntarily resigned on February 28, ’26, following the incident.She subsequently moved to a hospital in Tokyo. The director of a clinic where she had previously worked stated, “We had not received any reports of trouble, ” suggesting that, until then, she had not exhibited any behavior that would have raised concerns.

However, a classmate of Suspect Furukawa from junior high school said, “There was something odd about her words and actions.”

“Back in junior high, Ms. Furukawa was a member of the reading club and gave the impression of being a quiet student, but there was an incident where she staged a ‘hoax’ that caused a huge commotion among the entire grade. Her tracksuit went missing, and Ms. Furukawa claimed it had been ‘flushed down the toilet,’ so we all started a massive search… but a few days later, Ms. Furukawa suddenly confessed that she had staged the whole thing herself.Everyone was completely dumbfounded, wondering, ‘What’s wrong with her?’”

A classmate who spent elementary and middle school with the suspect Furukawa recalled the incident this way.

“I heard her father worked at the Tokyo Detention Center, so they gave the impression of being a serious family. She herself was a quiet and serious child, so when our classmate group on LINE heard about the incident, there were shocked reactions like, ‘Why?’When we were surveyed about our future dreams for the elementary school yearbook, Ms. Furukawa told those around her, ‘I want to be a nurse or a news anchor.’ She made her dream come true and became a nurse—so how did things end up like this…?”

After graduating from her local junior high school, Ms. Furukawa enrolled in a private girls’ high school in Tokyo. After graduating, she entered a vocational school for licensed practical nurses in Saitama Prefecture, but she caused trouble there as well.

“She dropped out of the vocational school in her second year due to disciplinary issues. Ms. Furukawa would completely change when she drank. She was living in a dorm at the time, and she was known for her flamboyant romantic relationships and for getting overly affectionate with anyone after drinking. She often skipped classes when drunk, which ultimately led to her expulsion.“I recognized her on the news and thought, ‘It’s Ms. Furukawa.’ To be honest, I’m confused—‘She didn’t let being expelled get her down and even became a nurse, so why…?’” (A classmate from her vocational school days)

According to a resident near Suspect Furukawa’s parents’ home, investigators from the Chiba Prefectural Police visited between May and June of this year to review security camera footage.

Could the “unexpected true nature” that Suspect Furukawa had hidden have led, after more than 30 years, to this horrific murder case?