Matsue Teruhiko
Saga Murder Case
JIADEP Note: The Saga Case is only the third postwar instance of a not guilty decision at the district court level when the prosecution demanded death. The defendant, Teruhiko Matsue, was arrested six hours before the 15 year old statute of limitations expired.
Articles about the case
1) Triple murder suspect found not guilty despite 'confession' Below
2) Confession Not Admisable
3) Serial killer arrested in nick of time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Triple murder suspect found not guilty despite 'confession'
Mainichi and wire reports, Japan, May 10, 2005
SAGA -- A man accused of strangling three women between 1987 and 1989 was declared not guilty Tuesday after the Saga District Court decided that an initial confession he made to the killings had no credibility.
In handing down the ruling, the court rejected the death penalty sought by prosecutors and cleared the 42-year-old man, Teruhiko Matsue, of the murders of Sumiko Fujise, 48, Kiyomi Nakajima, 50, and Tatsuyo Yoshino, 37. It is extremely rare for a not-guilty verdict to be handed down in a case in which the death penalty is sought.
The focus of the case had been on whether a written statement made by Matsue in the autumn of 1989 saying that he had killed the women was credible. Matsue was accused of murdering Fujise on July 8, 1987, Nakajima on Dec. 7, 1988, and Yoshino on Jan. 25, 1989.
In 1989, after Saga Prefectural Police had found the bodies of all three victims, Matsue, who was being held over a separate crime, submitted a written report saying that he had killed the three women.
However, after submitting the report, Matsue withdrew his confession and denied the murders. When his trial opened in October 2004 he said he knew nothing about the crimes.
During the trial, lawyers for Matsue had argued that the statement he made was the result of long-term questioning while he was detained, and that it was neither voluntary nor credible. They also said that the detection of Matsue's DNA on the clothes of one of the victims was not related to the incident, as Yoshino was in a relationship with the woman at the time. Saliva that matched the DNA of Matsue was reportedly found on the underwear of one of the victims.
In September last year, the Saga District Court ruled that Matsue's 67-page confession was inadmissible as evidence because questioning carried out by police at the time at which the statement was made was prolonged and deviated from the scope of a voluntary investigation.
Prosecutors had charged Matsue in connection with the killings just hours before the statue of limitations on the case was due to expire. (Mainichi and wire reports, Japan, May 10, 2005)
無罪判決：３女性連続殺人事件で元運転手に 佐賀地裁
佐賀県北方町で８９年１月に発覚した３女性連続殺人事件で、３件の殺人罪に問われた同町出身の元運転手、松江輝彦被告（４２）に対し、佐賀地裁は１０日、無罪（求刑・死刑）を言い渡した。坂主勉裁判長は「３事件とも被告が犯人であることを積極的に推認できる証拠や事実は存在せず、犯罪の証明がない」と述べた。１審で死刑が求刑された被告に無罪が言い渡されるのは極めて異例で、判決はずさんな捜査を厳しく批判する内容になった。検察側は控訴する方針。
最高裁によると、統計が残る１９５８年以降、求刑死刑の被告が無罪判決を受けたのは８件。８０年代にあった免田事件など４件の再審無罪事件を除くと、具体的に判明しているのは「名張毒ブドウ酒事件」の津地裁判決（６４年）だけという。
松江被告は、８７年７月８日に武雄市の料理店従業員、藤瀬澄子さん（当時４８歳）▽８８年１２月７日に北方町の主婦、中島清美さん（同５０歳）▽８９年１月２５日に同町の縫製会社員、吉野タツ代さん（同３７歳）−−を、それぞれ所有車の中で絞殺したとして起訴された。
検察側は、吉野さん殺害について（１）遺体に付いた体液から松江被告のＤＮＡが検出された（２）失そう当日に２人の車が同じ場所で目撃されている（３）松江被告のアリバイに関する供述は変遷し、松江被告以外の容疑者も浮上しなかった−−としたうえで、同じ場所で３遺体が見つかったことなどから「３人を殺害したのは明らか」と主張した。
これに対し、判決は「松江被告は当時、吉野さんと交際しており、ＤＮＡの検出は松江被告が犯人だと推認させるものではない。目撃された車も被告のものとは断定できない」と指摘。「殺害を直接裏付ける証拠はなく、供述の変遷を考慮しても、吉野さんを殺害したとは認定できない」と述べた。
また、藤瀬さんと中島さんの殺害に関しても、２人の失そう時期に松江被告と会っていたことを示す証拠がないことなどを挙げ「検察官の主張は想像の域を出ず、犯人性を裏付ける事情は認められない」と判断した。
松江被告は事件発覚直後の８９年秋に３女性殺害を認める上申書を提出していたが、その後否認に転じ、０４年１０月の初公判でも起訴事実を全面的に否認していた。公判では上申書の信用性や任意性が最大の争点となったが、同地裁は昨年９月、別事件で拘置されていた松江被告を長時間取り調べた末に上申書が作られていたことから、証拠としないことを決定。立証の最大の柱を失った検察側は苦境に立っていた。【宮本尚慶】
毎日新聞 2005年5月10日 14時48分
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~