10.13.2008

suspect in 27-year-old murder case commits suicide

Kazuyoshi Miura is dead. The Japanese businessman who was arrested earlier this year for conspiring to have his wife murdered 27 years ago hanged himself in his jail cell just hours after returning to Los Angeles to face charges: Japanese businessman Kazuyoshi Miura is found dead in jail cell.

He was found dead in his jail cell at the Los Angeles Police Department's Parker Center headquarters on Friday by an officer during a routine inspection. He apparently used a piece of his shirt as a makeshift ligature around his neck.

Kazuma Miura's murder back in 1981 apparently caused an international uproar because her husband initially had blamed "two street criminals," reinforcing Japanese stereotypes about violence in Los Angeles and other American cities.

Later, suspicion turned to Kazuyoshi Miura, who was eventually put on trial in Japan for conspiracy to commit murder under a Japanese law that allows its citizens to be prosecuted for crimes committed in other countries. He was taken in custody earlier this year while visiting the U.S. territory of Saipan. (The fool told everybody on his blog that he'd be traveling there.)

Miura's case has aparently been a high-profile story in Japan, where he has been dubbed "the Japanese O.J. Simpson." His extradition had drawn journalists to Los Angeles from dozens of media outlets as far away as Bangkok, Tokyo and Saipan, and his defense attorney was none other than celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos.

After all these years, they finally get him back to Los Angeles, and the bastard does this. It's no small feat to resurrect a 27-year-old murder case. Justice will not be served. Miura's suicide finally brings all of this craziness to an end, but forever unsettled.

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