Honjo City 5-Year-Old Boy Buried in the House by the Three Suspects Living with Him
The boy, who disappeared from daycare in mid-January, was found under the floor of a cold home. ...... A 30-year-old mother, a 34-year-old man, and his 54-year-old common-law wife stated that the three of them "dug a hole and buried him.
A nursery school near the JR station in Honjo City, Saitama Prefecture. One evening, the preschooler, A-kun, ran up to his mother, who had come to pick him up in her car, and to a man and woman who were there with him. The boy A said to the man and woman, “I’m sorry for making you wait. It was not long after this that A-kun was found dead under the floor of his house.
On March 5, Saitama Prefectural Police Honjo Police Station arrested the mother, Chika Kakimoto (30), her roommate Hiroki Niwa (34), and Niwa’s common-law wife Yoko Ishii (54) on suspicion of dumping the body of their 5-year-old son, A. The three admitted to the crime, saying that they “dug a hole and buried [the body] together.
The three and A-kun were mysteriously living together in a 50-year-old wooden house in the city. It is believed that these three were the ones who came to pick up Mr. A at the beginning of the story. According to the owner of the house, “I have been renting the house to Mr. Ishii for 12 years.
Originally, there were four people living in that house: Niwa, Ishii, and an elderly man and woman. One day, an elderly woman came running into the neighbor’s house, looking frightened and complaining that she was going to be killed. Meanwhile, Niwa and Ishii were looking for the elderly woman by bicycle. Realizing that this was not a normal situation, the neighbors went with the woman to the police station, where she was temporarily taken into custody. However, after the woman was sent home, the elderly man and woman were nowhere to be seen.
After the elderly man and woman disappeared, the Kakimoto mother and child, who met Ishii through an acquaintance, came to the house in January ’21.
The day-care center where A-kun attended from the time he was 0 years old interviewed us. After separating from her husband, Ms. Kakimoto moved to a friend’s house in the neighborhood, but things didn’t work out, and she ended up at that house. Since then, Ms. Kakimoto has always looked tired, and Mr. A’s answers have become increasingly vague, and we were concerned that he might be suffering from mental abuse.
Neighbors also suspected abuse.
In the parking lot of a supermarket, Ishii said to A-kun, ‘You little brat! When the four of us went out to a restaurant, Niwa would reprimand A for two hours, during which time A was sometimes not allowed to eat his meals.”
The beginning of this section shows that the relationship between Mr. A and the three was an unusual one. Then the worst happened.
The police are investigating the possibility that Mr. A died as a result of the abuse inflicted by the two suspects, Niwa and Ishii.
Was no one able to save the mother and child from their crazy fate? (Some titles in the text are omitted.)
From the March 25, 2022 issue of FRIDAY
PHOTO： Shinji Hasuo (1st)
