The Tokyo High Court has sentenced Jung-Hyun Park, a former editor of Kodansha's Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, to 11 years in prison for the murder of his wife. The court found Park's claim that his wife committed suicide to be unconvincing.

According to police reports from eight years ago, Park allegedly strangled his wife to death on August 9, 2016, at their residence in Sendagi, Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward.

Incident Details:

At around 2:45 a.m. that morning, Park called emergency services, stating that he had found his wife collapsed at the bottom of the stairs near the first-floor entrance upon returning home. She was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

In a statement made after his wife's death, Park claimed that his wife had committed suicide. However, an autopsy reportedly revealed signs of strangulation on Kanako's neck.

The police report claimed that footage from a nearby security camera showed no evidence of anyone else entering the area. At the time of the incident, the entire family, including Kanako and her four children, were present at home.

Previous trials had sentenced Park to 11 years in prison. However, the Supreme Court ordered a new trial, citing insufficient examination in previous hearings.

This led to a retrial at the Tokyo High Court.

Details of the last test:

In the latest ruling, the judge stated that evidence from the crime scene supported the initial verdict.There is nothing irrational about the first trial's conclusion that the former deputy editor strangled his wife on the mattress in their bedroom.”, the judge observed.

Park claimed during initial questioning that his wife, then 38, had fallen down the stairs. However, he later changed his statement, claiming that he had restrained his wife, who was holding a knife, on the mattress and then heard noises outside the door while he was in another room.

Upon investigation, he discovered that his wife had allegedly committed suicide. Throughout the trial, Park reportedly maintained his innocence, claiming that his wife had hanged herself.

However, the judge rejected this narrative, saying: “It is very abrupt and unnatural to believe that an unconscious wife would make noises and move to the point of committing suicide. The defendant's claim lacks credibility.“

After the verdict, the former editor expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision, stating: “This is wrong. I will definitely fix this.“

Park's family was also not satisfied with the verdict and, together with their lawyer, held a press conference in Tokyo after the hearing.

Park's mother expressed her anguish, saying: “My son had a good relationship with his wife and took care of the children. The children believed that their father would come home today, but I don't know how to convey the content of the verdict to them. This is an extremely cruel verdict.“

His lawyer also criticized the decision, stating: “The emphasis on the former deputy editor's testimony as unreliable became the focal point for the guilty verdict. It is highly unfair and infuriating.”, and indicated plans to appeal the decision.

Yasushi Handa, a former judge with extensive experience in criminal trials, commented on the case, noting: “The court, based on the premise of “what is unknown is unknown,” concluded that the defense’s story of suicide was impossible based on certain facts with medical evidence. The prosecution’s case was strong, making it difficult to overturn the conviction unless the defense’s claim of suicide was quite realistic.“

Jung-Hyun Park has supervised manga series such as Great Teacher Onizuka, Seven Deadly Sinsamong others. It is also worth noting that although Park was a former editor of Bessatsu Shonen magazine, he was not directly responsible for Attack on Titan manga.

Source: NHK