On October 18, 1963, two men from Fukuoka Prefecture were killed and 270,000 yen were snatched. Akira Nishiguchi (then 37 years old), who was wanted for the incident, continued to flee, and later committed fraud, killing two women in Shizuoka Prefecture and one man in Tokyo.
Nishiguchi, who took the lives of five people in total, came to the abbot's house in Kumamoto Prefecture in search of his next target. However, Nishiguchi was recognized by the 10-year-old girl who lived in this house.
First, the course of the incident
On October 18, 1963, the body of a man was found on a mountain road in Fukuoka Prefecture, a 58-year-old man who was a clerk of the Monopoly Commune. At a distance of 2 km from the scene, another male body was found. The man is Morigoro Mori (38 years old), a driver of the transport company.
The deceased, Murata, was in charge of collecting cigarettes and Mori was his driver, and the prisoner snatched 270,000 yen in cash that Mr. Murata received for his business and fled.
Based on eyewitness testimony, the Fukuoka Prefectural Police determined that it was the former driver Akira Nishiguchi (37 years old at the time), who lived nearby. Nishiguchi had four convictions of fraud and theft, and the Fukuoka Prefectural Police immediately wanted Nishiguchi to the whole country.
On the 19th of the next day, Nishiguchi took the woman to stay at a hotel in Fukuoka City, learned from the morning newspaper that he was wanted, and stayed in Kyushu and went to Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture.
Second, disguised suicide
On October 23, Nishiguchi sent the following letter from Saga Prefecture to the police station.
"As the warrant shows, I am a criminal who transports robbery and murder in a monopoly commune. After committing the crime, I planned to run away with my wife, but because I felt great regret, I decided to commit suicide. ”
Two days later, the Fukuoka Prefectural Police received contact from the Kagawa Prefectural Police saying that there were signs of suicide by jumping from the Utaka ferry "Seto Maru" at the West Exit, that the shirt and shoes were left on board, and that a suicide note was found in the pocket of the jacket. The Coast Guard conducted a search centered on the route and found no bodies, concluding that it was a suicide in disguise.
Third, kill the lady of the Shizuoka Hotel
On October 28, Nishiguchi, claiming to be a professor at Kyoto University, stayed at a hotel in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and Nishiguchi succeeded in convincing the proprietor Fujimi Yuki (41) that she was a university professor by calling Kyoto University, and slept with Nishiguchi for one night
On November 14, Nishiguchi came again to the inn in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and the hostess, Ms. Yuki, was convinced of the Kyoto University professor, and she not only welcomed Yamaguchi, but also prepared him to sleep in her room.
On November 18, Nishiguchi strangled the proprietor lady, Ms. Yuki, and her mother, Ms. Harue with a string, and took away precious stones, precious metals and other valuable items. Then, the money was exchanged for 48,000 yen at a pawnshop and fled.
Third, Akira Nishiguchi, who is specially wanted
On November 22, the National Police Agency decided to make Akira Nishiguchi a special wanted as an important named suspect.
This is based on the "Special Wanted Program for Important Named Suspects" established in December 1956 and is designated for perpetrators who have the potential to reoffend, which is more important than the annual comprehensive arrest of the National Police Agency. (Akira Nishiguchi's appointment is the fifth time in history)
Fourth, the killing of lawyers in Tokyo
Nishiguchi pretended to be a lawyer and continued to cheat, and in order to pretend to be a lawyer, he decided to steal the litigation documents.
Nishiguchi was about to choose Kamikichi Mematsu (82 years old at the time), an elderly lawyer he met by chance in the lounge of the Tokyo District Court, as the next target, and Nishiguchi first made a fake phone call to Mr. Kamikichi, saying that he would like to entrust a civil case.
Then, on December 29, they went to Kamikichi's apartment in Toshima-ku, Tokyo, and after entering the room, Nishiguchi beat him on the head from behind and strangled him with a tie around his neck.
He snatched cash and a lawyer's badge worth 140,000 yen, and spent the next four days in the closet at home.
Fifth, the final ending
So far, Nishiguchi has killed five people and repeatedly committed fraud and robbery. Although the police mobilized 120,000 police to trace his whereabouts, they were never able to apprehend him.
On January 2, 1964, Nishiguchi appeared at Ritsuganji Temple in Tamana City, Kumamoto Prefecture, disguised as a lawyer, and Nishiguchi called himself "Kawamura Lawyer", explaining that he had come from Tokyo to support Mr. Furukawa's activities.
Mr. Furukawa was reassured by mentioning the names of other supporters in the conversation, that Yamaguchi had stolen the greeting card the day before and knew the names of other supporters
A girl who saw through her true face
Unlike the warm welcoming atmosphere of her parents, Ruriko (then 10 years old), the second daughter of the Furukawa family, was shocked when she saw "Kawamura Lawyer". Then she suddenly thought of something and rushed out of the house.
After a while, Ruriko returned, and she said to her parents, "Lawyer Kawamura (Nishiguchi) looks a lot like the serial murderer Akira Nishiguchi." It turned out that she went out to confirm the wanted photos that she often saw outside.
The disturbed Michiko told her husband about this, and just in case, Furukawa also went to see the warrant, and when he returned home, he talked to "Kawamura Lawyer" while confirming that his appearance was indeed the same as that of a prisoner.
The longer we chatted, the more we found something obviously suspicious, and Mr. Furukawa was convinced that "this man who calls himself Kawamura's lawyer is Akira Nishiguchi."
If unnatural movements are discovered, they can be dangerous for families. After thinking about the way to call the police while ensuring the safety of his family, Mr. Furukawa decided to stay overnight at the West Exit, believing that it was safest to call the police while he was sleeping.
The long night of the Furukawa house
After 11 o'clock in the evening, I was ready to turn off the lights in the room at the west entrance. Michiko and Aiko sneak out of the house quietly and go to the police station to explain the situation, but because it is too late, they are told that it will take several hours to gather the people.
At 4 a.m., police arrived at the scene. For Mr. Furukawa, it was a long time that seemed like forever, but in this way he was relieved.
Finally arrested Akira Nishiguchi
After dawn, Nishiguchi woke up, seemed to sense something, said "I'm going to Fukuoka", and prepared to go home as if running away, however, as soon as he walked out of the house, he was easily arrested by the police.
Mr. Furukawa's strategy succeeded, but then he heard something terrible from the police, Nishiguchi's purpose was to fund Mr. Furukawa's activities, and he planned to find an opportunity to kill the whole family and grab the money to flee to Okinawa.
As a result, Nishiguchi was arrested and his 78-day fugitive life came to an end. The police chief said, "The eyes of 120,000 police officers are no match for the eyes of a young girl."