0:00

Around 1250 a.m. on Thursday,

0:02

October 1st, 1992, the body

0:04

of a young woman was

0:06

discovered in the passenger seat

0:08

of a car parked in

0:10

the staff parking lot of

0:12

a swimming school in Mitokarymachi,

0:14

Kanazawa City, Japan. The woman

0:17

was Chiu Anjitsu, who was 20 years

0:19

old at the time, the owner of

0:21

the car and a swimming coach at

0:24

the school. Chiu was found with

0:26

her eyes closed, as if asleep,

0:28

as if asleep. The passenger seat

0:30

reclined, and the passenger door locked.

0:33

Her body was first discovered by

0:35

her mother, and older sister, who

0:37

had come looking for her, worried

0:40

because she hadn't come home. So

0:42

who was this woman, and why was

0:44

she found in such a horrific state

0:46

inside her own car? Today we're going

0:48

to look at one of Japan's

0:51

biggest regrets and unsolved cases,

0:53

a case with too many

0:55

unanswered questions and lingering mysteries.

0:58

This is the case of

1:00

Chio Anjitsu. When

1:24

her mother found her daughter in

1:26

the car and opened the unlocked

1:28

driver's store to wake her, she

1:31

noticed something was wrong. Chio was

1:33

unresponsive, her body was cold, and

1:36

when she turned on the interior

1:38

light, she saw marks around her

1:40

neck that looked like she had

1:43

been strangled. She rushed to a

1:45

nearby bar where the owner called

1:47

110. So who exactly is Chio

1:50

Anjitsu? and why did her

1:52

death become one of the

1:54

most regrettable cases Torao Nishimura,

1:56

one of Japan's top detectives,

1:59

ever faced? Chiu Anjitsu was the

2:01

second of three daughters in a

2:03

pretty well-off family. Her father was

2:05

the vice president of the city's

2:08

swimming association, and her older sister

2:10

was also a swimmer, so naturally,

2:12

Chil was good at swimming too.

2:15

Her love for swimming led her

2:17

to join the swimming club in

2:19

high school, where she served as

2:21

the club's manager. After graduating, she

2:24

got hired as a swimming coach

2:26

at a swimming school. She was

2:28

described as a loving person with

2:31

a caring and bright personality and

2:33

a charismatic smile that made her

2:35

respected and loved by friends, colleagues,

2:37

students, and everyone around her. She

2:40

was said to have close relationships

2:42

with male colleagues, but she was

2:44

never seen dating anyone or even

2:47

close with anyone outside of work.

2:49

People around her said that she

2:51

always wrote in a diary about

2:53

her days, but she stopped writing

2:56

a few months before the tragedy.

2:58

Her home was in Yaguru Shimacho,

3:00

Mato City, which is now Hakosan

3:02

City, about seven kilometers south of

3:05

the school where she worked, which

3:07

was about a 10-minute drive away.

3:09

Yaguru Shimacho is a small rural

3:12

community of about 20 households surrounded

3:14

by farmland. The swimming school where

3:16

Chiyo's body was found is in

3:18

the western part of Kanazawa City.

3:21

The school is in a densely

3:23

populated residential area, about nine kilometers

3:25

south of Kanazawa Station, and near

3:28

several popular tourist spots. Since the

3:30

school was in the opposite direction,

3:32

from downtown Kanazawa, compared to her

3:34

home, Tio only went into the

3:37

city after work when she had

3:39

to go shopping or to kariogi

3:41

with friends. Her work usually ended

3:44

around 10 p.m. She was the

3:46

kind of person who called her

3:48

sister or mother every day after

3:50

work. But for some unknown reason,

3:53

she didn't call either of them

3:55

on the day of the incident,

3:57

which was very unusual for her.

4:00

Her mother tried to to contact

4:02

the school and some of her

4:04

friends to ask about her whereabouts,

4:06

but no one knew where she

4:09

was. The mother and her eldest

4:11

daughter searched restlessly until they found

4:13

she was body inside her own

4:16

car parked outside the swimming school

4:18

and immediately called the police. When

4:20

the police arrived, they began investigating

4:22

the body and the car. The

4:25

car was a black Mitsubishi Mirage

4:27

Fabio compact car. parked facing forward

4:29

in her usual parking space, space

4:32

two. It was parked messily, spilling

4:34

into the adjacent space three, and

4:36

the front bumper was touching the

4:38

curb at the boundary of the

4:41

lot. When the car was discovered,

4:43

the engine was off, but the

4:45

key was in the car, and

4:48

the shift lever was still in

4:50

drive. The volume was turned down,

4:52

but the car stereo's lights were

4:54

on, and it was still running.

4:57

It seemed the perpetrator was in

4:59

a hurry and unfamiliar with operating

5:01

Chio's car. Alternatively, the perpetrator might

5:03

have intentionally parked the car messily

5:06

to alert other staff members to

5:08

something unusual. An unknown fingerprint was

5:10

found on cassette tape case in

5:13

the dashboard, but it was deemed

5:15

unlikely that it belonged to the

5:17

perpetrator. A razor for shaving eyebrows

5:19

was also found on the dashboard,

5:22

but there was no sign it

5:24

had been used. Chu's shoulder bag,

5:26

containing her wallet and other items,

5:29

was left in the back seat.

5:31

Now let's look at the body

5:33

found inside the car. When discovered,

5:35

Chu was not wearing shoes. The

5:38

left shoe was inside the car,

5:40

but the right shoe was not

5:42

found. The cause of death was

5:45

asphyxiation due to strangulation. The murder

5:47

weapon was assumed to be a

5:49

string-like object that was somewhat hard

5:51

and had a creased pattern measuring

5:54

four centimeters at its widest point.

5:56

The string marks reached behind both

5:58

ears and it was assumed the

6:01

perpetrator pulled the string from the

6:03

right rear to compress the throat.

6:05

Inside her mouth a piece of

6:07

grass was found in her throat

6:10

and behind the teeth. Subcutaneous bleeding

6:12

was found on her left cheek

6:14

near the lower left jaw and

6:17

on the left hip. Based on

6:19

the condition of the incontinence marks

6:21

on her clothing, it is believed

6:23

the perpetrator turned the body over

6:26

immediately after the murder. Since there

6:28

was no urine reaction in the

6:30

car, it is believed that Chio

6:33

was killed outside and then driven

6:35

to the school parking lot. Since

6:37

there was no skin or other

6:39

material from the perpetrator on Chio's

6:42

fingernails, it was assumed that there

6:44

was no violent resistance. and since

6:46

her wallet, bag, and other belongings

6:49

were undamaged, it was clear it

6:51

was an robbery attempt. Chu was

6:53

wearing a black long-sleeved jacket over

6:55

navy blue denim overalls with mud

6:58

on the back and buttocks. The

7:00

lower abdomen of the overalls had

7:02

been slashed vertically with a knife,

7:04

approximately 20 centimeters in length. A

7:07

plastic bag containing an empty container

7:09

had been placed on top of

7:11

her lower abdomen, as if to

7:14

hide the cut. This was the

7:16

bad shew had used to bring

7:18

spaghetti from home for lunch. However,

7:20

lunch was provided at her workplace

7:23

that day, and a colleague testified

7:25

that she ate the spaghetti she

7:27

brought at the end of work.

7:30

The fact that she ate the

7:32

spaghetti instead of taking it home,

7:34

which was only a 10-minute drive

7:36

away, suggests she didn't plan to

7:39

go home immediately and had some

7:41

business to attend to after work.

7:43

There were also signs of lewd

7:46

acts or assault attempts. The left

7:48

shoulder strap of the overalls was

7:50

undone, and one of the three

7:52

buttons on the chest had a

7:55

broken thread and was hidden inside

7:57

the clothing. There were traces of

7:59

her bra. being pulled lower than

8:02

usual and saliva of type A

8:04

or type B different from Gio's

8:06

type A was found on the

8:08

top of the bra and on

8:10

her breasts. Since part of her

8:12

panties had been pulled down

8:14

it was speculated that the

8:17

perpetrator had attempted to reach

8:19

his hand into her genitals.

8:22

However there were no signs

8:24

of sexual intercourse. Besides

8:26

those findings, there was

8:28

also one unexpected, but

8:30

crucial clue in this presumed

8:32

murder case. For some reason, coniferous

8:35

leaves were found in Chio's

8:37

mouth and hair. Three days after

8:39

the incident, they were identified

8:41

as Medisakoya leaves. Medisakoya was

8:44

handed over from China. to

8:46

the Japanese government, an imperial

8:48

family in 1949, treasured as

8:51

a living fossil, and subsequently

8:53

spread throughout Japan, but only

8:55

planted in public places like

8:57

schools and parks. In short,

9:00

it was a rare species

9:02

that didn't grow naturally everywhere.

9:04

So how did they end

9:06

up on Chio's body? Meanwhile,

9:09

an investigator identifying the crime

9:11

scene in the suburbs found

9:13

an apple orchard surrounded by

9:16

four-meter-tall Medisicoia young trees. This

9:18

orchard was a few hundred

9:20

meters from Chio's home in

9:23

Yagoro Shimacho Mato City. The

9:25

map you see is recent and

9:27

now a factory has been built

9:29

on top of the apple orchard.

9:31

Metasepoya trees were planted at three

9:33

meter intervals around the apple orchard

9:36

and at the time there was

9:38

no fence around the side so

9:40

anyone who wanted to enter the

9:42

orchard could simply walk through the

9:44

trees. Tire tracks matching the victim's car

9:47

were found at the back of the

9:49

road and shoe was right shoe and

9:51

hair were found about five meters into

9:54

the orchard. All of the hair was

9:56

type A and later confirmed to belong

9:58

to Chihou. It is speculated

10:01

that the perpetrator assaulted Shio inside

10:03

the park and after the murder

10:05

carried her from behind, dragging her

10:08

feet, which is believed to be

10:10

when her right shoe came off,

10:12

and placed her in the passenger

10:15

seat of her car, parked at

10:17

the back of the farm road.

10:19

Additionally, two 3.8 centimeter-long white strands

10:21

of wool were found attached to

10:24

her hair. The wool was off-white

10:26

and not commercially available. By identifying

10:28

the manufacture, it was found to

10:31

be very similar to a Bonten

10:33

hat made by a company in

10:35

Toyama Prefecture, but this couldn't be

10:38

determined for a certain. A Bonten

10:40

is a round ball that's attached

10:42

to the top of a knitted

10:45

hat. If the wool was from

10:47

a child's knitted hat, it could

10:49

suggest that the perpetrator was in

10:52

close proximity to a small child.

10:54

A gasoline ticket was also found

10:56

at the park and was thought

10:59

to be from someone who was

11:01

there at the time. But it

11:03

was later found that the ticket

11:05

belonged to an innocent couple, who

11:08

were there around 9.30 to 10

11:10

p.m. They said there was no

11:12

one else there at the time.

11:15

Back to the parking lot, there

11:17

were 29 spaces divided by white

11:19

lines. It might be difficult for

11:22

someone unfamiliar with a place to

11:24

find the parking lot because a

11:26

six-story building hit it. It was

11:29

assumed that the perpetrator was a

11:31

close acquaintance or someone who knew

11:33

that Chihou always chose space number

11:36

two for her car. Based on

11:38

testimonies compiled by the investigator, a

11:40

male instructor saw Chio driving away

11:43

in the opposite direction from her

11:45

house around 7.15. It's unclear if

11:47

she had anyone in the car

11:49

at the time, but these actions

11:52

suggest she had an errand in

11:54

the opposite direction from home and

11:56

was heading to pick up someone.

11:59

Two fellow coaches who worked the

12:01

late shift testified that the car

12:03

was parked in the same state

12:06

as when her mother and sister

12:08

found it around 8.50 and 9.35

12:10

p.m. At the time the colleagues

12:13

didn't notice anything strange inside the

12:15

car. If these eyewitness accounts are

12:17

true the perpetrator would have killed

12:20

Chihou in the apple orchard near

12:22

her home between 7.15 and 8.50

12:24

p. And then gone to the

12:27

trouble of returning the car to

12:29

the staff parking lot. This means

12:31

the perpetrator must have traveled from

12:33

the apple orchard to the school

12:36

by that time, but there were

12:38

also reports of citing of what

12:40

appeared to be Chiyo's vehicle at

12:43

around 8.40 p.m. A female witness

12:45

testified that while she was driving

12:47

along the main road through Ugakw

12:50

three chome, toward the train tracks,

12:52

she saw a black mirage turning

12:54

left from an alley ahead on

12:57

the left. However, many doubted her

12:59

testimony since she was said to

13:01

be a fortune teller. Some said

13:04

she just loved fortune telling. She

13:06

said she remembered the plate because

13:08

the number added up to 19,

13:11

which she thought was unlucky. This

13:13

might sound strange, but the licensed

13:15

plate number of Chio's car was

13:17

954. She had also been considering

13:20

purchasing the same model of car

13:22

as Chiyo and clearly remembered its

13:24

characteristics. She witnessed the car from

13:27

behind and thought the driver was

13:29

a young man based on his

13:31

hair. Since the backrest of the

13:34

passenger seat was not visible, it

13:36

was thought that the seat was

13:38

reclined. The female witness stopped at

13:41

a supermarket just after crossing the

13:43

train tracks, but the car in

13:45

front of her continued straight ahead

13:48

continued straight ahead. This surely indicated

13:50

that the perpetrator was the one

13:52

driving the car with Chil's body

13:55

inside. However, since the sighting was

13:57

in the opposite direction from the

13:59

park, this information confused the investigators.

14:01

The only interpretation was

14:04

that other people were around when

14:06

the criminal approached the parking lot,

14:08

sold the criminal passed by the

14:10

spot and took a detour. Initially,

14:13

Kanazawa Police Station set

14:15

up a temporary investigation headquarters

14:17

near the crime scene. Later,

14:20

a joint investigation headquarters was

14:22

established at Matow Police Station,

14:25

merging with it six months

14:27

later. This split... in the

14:29

investigation team led to poor

14:32

initial information sharing. Nishimura, head

14:34

of the special investigation section

14:36

at Kanazawa Nakap police station

14:39

who was involved in the

14:41

investigation, criticized the top-down approach,

14:43

where higher-ups controlled

14:45

all aspects of the investigation.

14:48

The upper echelon's fear of media

14:50

leaks resulted in the investigation

14:53

file being moved to the

14:55

station, preventing information sharing with

14:57

the investigators. This excessive secrecy

15:00

hampered the investigator's ability to

15:02

make deductions and judgments. For

15:04

instance, the discovery of off-wide

15:07

rule on the body was

15:09

concealed, and only came to

15:12

light a month later, causing

15:14

investigators to scramble for information.

15:16

This lack of detailed information sharing

15:19

at all levels hindered the

15:21

investigation. Ten years after the

15:23

incident, Torah Nishimura returned to

15:25

the investigation headquarters and discovered

15:27

that the murder weapon used

15:30

to strangle the victim still

15:32

hadn't been identified. Upon reviewing

15:34

the autopsy findings Nishimura deduced that

15:36

the weapon was the shoulder strap

15:38

of the victim's overalls, based on

15:41

the rope groove groove groove groove

15:43

angles, based on the rope groove

15:45

groove groove angles. He confirmed this

15:47

by reenacting the crime with someone

15:49

of similar build, finding that the

15:52

straps with length and metal fittings

15:54

match the rope marks. Despite the

15:56

autopsy describing the strangulation

15:59

marks in a that aligned with

16:01

the strap, a forensic report

16:03

error measuring the strap incorrectly,

16:05

led to it being overlooked

16:07

as the murder weapon for

16:09

nearly a decade. Gwanz corrected

16:12

an investigation report identify the

16:14

strap as the murder weapon,

16:16

suggesting the crime was impulsive

16:18

rather than premeditated. It also

16:20

indicated the perpetrator was likely

16:22

right-handed. Nishimura, however, was transferred

16:24

and the case expired in

16:26

2007. Nishimura suspected someone close

16:29

to the victim, referred to

16:31

as Yamada Taichi, which is

16:33

a pseudonym, it's not his

16:35

real name, estimating a 60

16:37

to 70% probability of guilt,

16:39

despite lacking concrete evidence. At

16:41

that time, DNA testing was

16:44

not available in Ishikawa. and

16:46

the limited DNA sample was

16:48

not analyzed effectively. Nishimura had

16:50

placed his hopes on his

16:52

successor, but those hopes weren't

16:54

taken seriously, and all of

16:56

his hard work was never

16:59

used. Nishimura later wrote a

17:01

book titled, I'm sorry, Chihou,

17:03

detailing his perspective, analysis, and

17:05

regret for not solving the

17:07

case. The book includes his

17:09

analysis of Yamada's alibi and

17:11

his thoughts on how the

17:14

incident occurred. Ishimura believes the

17:16

suspect had specific reasons behind

17:18

seemingly puzzling actions. Yamada's alibi

17:20

confirmed six months after the

17:22

crime was reconsidered when his

17:24

name appeared in a 1994

17:26

review as one of 19

17:29

possible suspects with blood types

17:31

AB or B. Although his

17:33

alibi was confirmed by a

17:35

third party for times before

17:37

and after the crime, there

17:39

was no evidence that he

17:41

hadn't snuck out during the

17:44

crime. This raised doubts about

17:46

the alibi. Here's what Nishimura

17:48

wrote about what he thinks

17:50

happened that day. After finishing

17:52

work, Chio drove towards downtown

17:54

Kanasawa, meeting Yamada near a

17:56

restaurant parking lot. Yamada left

17:59

his car in the parking

18:01

lot and got into Chio's

18:03

car, with Chio moving to

18:05

the passenger seat, and Yamada

18:07

taking over as the driver.

18:09

This is based on eyewitness

18:11

reports that saw the car

18:14

turn left at Adimatsu intersection

18:16

around 7.30 p. with a

18:18

man driving and a woman

18:20

in the passenger seat. Nishimura

18:22

says that from the direction

18:24

the car was traveling, it's

18:26

clear the perpetrator intended to

18:29

take Chio to a motel

18:31

via prefectual route 174, commonly

18:33

known as the motel highway.

18:35

When Chio refused to go

18:37

to a motel, Yamada drove

18:39

to an apple orchard, attempted

18:41

a sexual act, and attacked

18:44

her when she tried to

18:46

escape. After the crime, Yamada

18:48

needed to create an alibi.

18:50

Since there was no transportation

18:52

in rural areas at night,

18:54

he put the body in

18:56

the car and drove to

18:59

the swimming school. To make

19:01

it look like a perverted

19:03

attack, Yamada passed the swimming

19:05

school once, stopped somewhere to

19:07

get a knife, and slashed

19:09

the lower abdomen of Chio's

19:11

overalls. On the way back

19:14

to the swimming school, he

19:16

was seen by a fortune

19:18

teller around 8. 8.40p. Nishimura

19:20

met Yamada multiple times, deepening

19:22

his suspicions. through private information

19:24

and local land maps and

19:26

concluded that Yawada's alibi was

19:29

flawed. Unlike dramas or movies,

19:31

this case didn't meet a

19:33

good end. The case was

19:35

the last case to have

19:37

an expired period. Even after

19:39

extensive investigations questioning hundreds, thousands

19:41

of people and many years

19:44

passing, the case remains unsolved.

19:46

The swimming school remains vacant

19:48

and the apple orchard is

19:50

long gone. along with the

19:52

memories of anything that happened

19:54

there. Amid all this, we

19:56

can't help but feel the

19:59

past and hope from Nishimura.

20:01

His book caught the attention

20:03

of a director who created

20:05

a documentary based on the

20:07

case called Torao. The perpetrator

20:10

might still be out there today.

20:12

He might not feel guilty and

20:14

doesn't have any plan to reveal

20:17

himself to the public. Even if

20:19

he did, Japan couldn't punish him

20:21

because the case has expired.

20:23

Still, the only thing we

20:25

can do is pray for Chu

20:28

Anjitsu's soul. to rest in

20:30

peace. That's all for today. Thanks

20:32

for watching.