Ia 75-year-old man in Japan was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of murder and hiding a corpse. Upon further investigation, the police discovered that he may also be involved in another case of murder that happened 17 years ago. The victim was also his former co-worker. In addition, some customers of his yakiniku restaurant complained that the meat served had a strange taste, so the suspicion arose that it might have been mixed with human flesh.
According to Japanese media reports, Yoshitaka Kokyo, 74, was first convicted in 2018 of killing Nao Nakagawa, 69-years-old, who he used to work with at a construction company. After the crime, he dismembered the body and dumped it on an embankment near the Hayama River. While he was serving a sentence in Okayama Prison, police discovered his connection to a 2008 case, in which the dismembered remains of an unidentified man were found in Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture.
A decade later, authorities confirmed that the 2008 victim was Kawamoto Hideyuki, a 39-year-old former co-worker of Kokyo and Nakagawa. It was found out that they had a dispute over money and that Kokyo had a history of hurting Kawamoto. From the identification of the corpse, it took seven years before the police found solid evidence to link Kokyo to the crime, so he was arrested on February 27, 2025.
Upon deeper investigation, Kokyo's yakiniku restaurant discovered human bones in a water pipe. After DNA testing, police found that it did not come from either of the two previous victims. Because of this, the suspicion that there is another victim who has not yet been identified has grown stronger.
Ayon sa ulat ng Japanese media, isang customer ng restaurant ang nagsabing karaniwan ay masarap ang karne sa lugar, ngunit minsan ay may inihain silang kakaibang karne na hindi matukoy kung ano. Ito ang lalong nagpalakas sa espekulasyon na posibleng may halong laman ng tao ang pagkain sa restaurant.
