A person convicted in two murders that triggered a media furor in Japan in 1994 died Monday after he was discovered overwhelmed and stabbed in his cell at Halawa Correctional Facility on Oahu, in keeping with legislation enforcement companies.
Raita Fukusaku, 59, had served virtually 30 years for the capturing deaths of Japanese fortuneteller Toako “Kototome” Fujita and her son Goro. Toako Fujita’s physique was present in a Honolulu condo that had been set on hearth. Her son’s physique was discovered the next day in a automobile parked close by.
Toako Fujita was well-known as a result of she had been consulted by Japanese political and company leaders. Fukusaku was arrested after he tried to pawn her jewellery in Japan.
Fukusaku was the primary Japanese nationwide charged with homicide to be extradited to the United States, in keeping with media studies on the time.
Fukusaku was indicted for capturing each victims however denied he pulled the set off. He claimed Japanese “yakuza,” or organized crime figures, have been responsible, however he was convicted and sentenced to 2 consecutive life phrases for the slayings.
The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation stated Fukusaku was discovered unresponsive and bleeding on the ground of his cell. Honolulu police reported he was discovered at 11:30 p.m. He was a common inhabitants inmate described as a docile prisoner by corrections employees.
“It was determined that the victim had been assaulted and stabbed by his cellmate, a 38-year-old male,” Honolulu police stated, including {that a} weapon had been recovered. An announcement from corrections officers stated he additionally suffered trauma to his head and neck.
Prison employees instantly referred to as 911 and carried out cardiopulmonary resuscitation till Emergency Medical Services staff arrived and took over, the assertion stated. EMS personnel pronounced the inmate useless.
Fukusaku’s cellmate was instantly faraway from the cell and positioned in a holding unit, jail officers stated. The cellmate was not publicly recognized.
The case is the second killing of a Hawaii jail inmate this yr. Anton Myklebust, 46, was discovered overwhelmed and strangled in a cell at Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona on May 4.
The state Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Investigation Division is main the investigation into Fukusaku’s dying. Prison officers and HPD are also investigating, the corrections division stated.
