Kishu Don Juan” Case Stuns 28 Witnesses and Even the Lawyer: “An Unbelievable Number
Former Prosecutor Analyzes Trial of Saki Sudo, Accused of Murdering Wealthy Husband
On September 12, former Osaka District Public Prosecutor and lawyer Masaki Kamei appeared remotely live on Nippon Television’s “news every.” and commented on the first hearing of the trial of Saki Sudo (28), the ex-wife of Kosuke Nozaki (then 77), a wealthy Wakayama man nicknamed “Don Juan of Kishu,” who is accused of murdering Nozaki.
Sudo is accused of killing Nozaki by forcing her to ingest a lethal dose of stimulants orally on May 24, 2018. The defendant appeared in court for the first hearing wearing a black dress and denied the charges, stating, “I did not kill the president, nor did I force him to ingest stimulants. I am innocent.”
The prosecution did not comment on the victim’s method of ingesting the stimulants. Kamei speculated, “I think the prosecution probably could not identify the method of ingesting the stimulants either.” He analyzed, “I think they judged that they could infer murder from circumstantial evidence in the surrounding area, such as the stimulants that caused the victim’s death going to this room and being put there by someone.”
Although Sudo had time alone with Nozaki on the day, there was almost no physical evidence to prove the crime. At the first hearing, the prosecution presented evidence that Sudo had searched for words such as “perfect crime drugs” and “elderly perfect crime,” as well as questions about inheritance.
Regarding the prosecution’s assessment, Kamei said, ”Since the crime occurred in a closed room, it is highly likely that the defendant is the culprit. The motive has been fairly well established. I think the presence of the murder weapon, the methamphetamine, will also be established.” He continued, “In addition to this, the smartphone search was conclusive. The statements of those involved show that the crime was planned,” and added, “In that sense, we have been able to paint a story of a planned murder from start to finish.”
The trial will be held 25 times, with the verdict to be handed down on December 12th. In the meantime, 28 witnesses are scheduled to appear in court. Kamei expressed surprise, saying, “That’s an incredibly large number. In my experience, I’ve only seen about 10 witnesses, even at most.”
Regarding his impression of the trial as a whole, he stated, “I think the prosecutors have an enormous advantage. I feel they have a considerable amount of circumstantial evidence.”