The murder count of long black haired women got up to 4,
and the country was shaken by this so-called God of Death case.
Here, the corpse of
Taguchi Narumi-san was discovered,
but since then, the murders have stopped.
Director Sakuma.
We have the identity of the man leaving the scene.
A rental video store worker,
- Yasuoka Koji, 40 years old. - Tell me more.
He fits the description of the victim's stalker
and it also seems he left threatening letters at her place.
Fingerprints on the letter match those found at the murder scene.
- Do everything you can to make sure it's him. - Right.
Yesterday, in a Tamagawa riverbed in Ota District,
interior designer Uchiyama Hiroko, 28...
- Good morning. - Hey.
Oh man, everyone is here.
3 minutes...
Wonder if those Kamata people will be okay.
Shiraishi-san,
so speaking of my time at the South Kamata police station,
there was a really interesting guy...
Michi-chan! Hey hey hey!
Wait a second!
Michi-chan, you're a fan of the Swallows right?
- How about we go to the next game? - I have plans that day.
Please invite me out again next time.
Damn!
Hey, sleepyhead!
2 tickets, originally priced at 6,200 yen,
- they're yours for 6,000. - Huh?
I am a Hanshin fan anyway.
- And a bonus. - But I'm not really
interested in baseball at all. Oh Takamine-san.
I can't, my kid has a cultural festival.
- Shiraishi-san. - Go with your boyfriend.
I've been so busy I haven't spoken with him in 3 months.
Well then, I guess that love is over, huh?
- Haha. - I'll ask him out.
Good morning.
- Morning. - Fukuzawa.
Here.
You bought them again?
Didn't I tell you?
Excuse me. Chief, I have to talk to you.
What is it? That's quite a serious face you have.
The number you have dialed
- is no longer in service. - His number changed...
Everyone listen up! We have a reopened case.
- What case? - The God of Death case from 8 years ago.
It might be related with that Kamata murder from yesterday.
Zettai Reido (Absolute Zero) - Case 3
- There's a lot of evidence. - That's because there were 4 victims.
I actually thought the murderer had died.
What was he doing for 8 years?
Maybe he was in prison?
He ran away to another country and just came back to Japan?
Well I don't even think it's the same person to begin with.
According to the report from headquarters, the Kamata murder victim
was stabbed with her hands and feet tied up.
8 years ago, the suspect in the God of Death case
carved "GOD" on his victims and cut off some of the hair to bring home.
But that didn't happen in this case.
And also, in the previous 4 murders, the victims were tied up to a chair,
the execution style here isn't the same.
And this time he took the body from the murder site
to a dry riverbed, that's different too.
However, there is one point where they all agree.
His focus was on long black haired females in their late 20s.
Tying both hands and feet together and stabbing her to death.
And there's one special characteristic to focus on.
- The method of tying the rope. - The method?
Sakuragi, sit.
The tying method in the Kamata murder and the past
- look to be the same. - Like this,
you make a butterfly loop and then
make a knot through there.
Athletes usually
tie up like this so they don't get untied by accident.
The middle schooler who found the victim told us about it.
They used the same kind of method in their baseball club.
- So we started to notice it. - Yes, but just that
is enough to call the murderers the same?
The murder happened on April 23.
8 years ago, the first murder happened on April 23 also.
From then on it started to escalate
and 3 more women were killed.
So some differences but also some similarities too eh?
It's a loose foundation Fukuzawa.
But if it is the same person,
there's a chance someone else will die.
If there's even a chance, we need to hurry and investigate.
We haven't been able to solve this case because there are no good eyewitness reports,
and besides their outward appearance,
there is nothing else linking them together.
Look at this.
The murder locations don't match up with their route to work
or even to any of their friends' places.
So then he targeted them at random?
If you know the area, it makes the murder easy.
Maybe he was involved with work all over the city?
I've already asked forensics
to start looking over the data once again.
This time I want to focus on finding things we didn't then,
find anything else connecting the four of them,
and prove a link to the Kamata murder.
Get a complete account from those involved.
A recorder will make that pretty easy.
No, later you have to transcribe them all.
- Huh? - Chief said you were suited for it.
If you have a problem, say so.
No no, I believe that I am.
I'm going to go search around the Kamata murder site.
- Takamine, go with him. - Okay.
Sakamoto and Sakuragi, go get the accounts from people back then.
- Yes. - Shiraishi-san,
Go find out the alibi for any suspects from
8 years ago on the murder that happened this time.
- Okay. - Uh, wait a second!
If there's a chance the murderer is the same,
don't we need the data on the murder this time too?
We requested the data from Special Investigations already
but they haven't replied yet.
Huh? Why?
Uh, hey!
What?
Hey!
Abandoning a dead body at a riverbed near a busy walkway,
there's a chance someone would've seen it.
Maybe the small flaw in this crime.
The middle school student who found her first
saw someone running from the scene right?
He doesn't remember anything?
Only that it was a man in his 40s.
Takamine-san, you were on the
profiling team for the God of Death case, right?
The profile was a man in his 30s or 40s.
Strong and also had intelligence.
He craved attention and power.
He experienced stress or had
a traumatic event with a long blacked hair woman.
After the crime, he brought the hair back home as proof of his victory.
Why is the execution style different this time,
no cut hair or carving of GOD on the skin?
People's tastes and character don't change that easily.
Isn't it too early to focus on them being the same killer?
What? Some personal involvement with this case?
Not really. It's just another unsolved case.
I'm Fukuzawa from Investigations.
We're looking for a link to an unsolved case.
We'd like to search the scene.
What's Investigations doing here? Messing up our crime scene?
We just want a detailed account of the murder scene.
There's no way we're telling you that.
Marking your territory eh?
Piece of advice.
You won't be able to solve this case.
Fukuzawa is terrible at negotiations.
Please.
8 years ago my daughter was murdered by a serial killer!
Anything will help. Please, any information!
Please!
The police?
What do you want now?
I don't expect anything from the police.
Do you know about the woman murdered in Kamata a few days ago?
- Huh? - We're looking for
a link between that murder and the one from 8 years ago.
Isn't that amazing, a gallery in Akasaka?
I'm glad you worked hard and never gave up.
Yeah. But I still have more to do.
Dad and I will go everyday.
Stop it! That's embarrassing!
I'll go visit too!
Why do you say it like that?
- It's a very good picture. - Thank you very much.
Apologies for the mess.
It's a little hard living by yourself.
It's a little rude but, your wife?
She left with my youngest daughter.
It's because you were watching TV back then.
If you had noticed Narumi's call and met her on the way to the station.
It's your fault Narumi died!
I blamed her too much for what happened.
The murder still bothered me.
And I took the pain out on my wife.
I didn't just lose Narumi from this.
- Good work today. - Oh, Sakuragi.
I heard the story from the family of the first victim,
- but there was no link to the current murder. - No good for us too.
We did all we legally could, there's nothing left for us.
How timid. Outwitted like that by Special Investigations,
- you won't be able to solve this case. - You're one to talk.
Big trouble! There's someone here who's really really angry!
- Who? - Well...
Seems like you're asking for information from our investigation?
We're looking into a link with the God of Death murders from 8 years ago.
We're the ones focused on actually catching the murderer.
And you just blindly link it to some unsolved case?
Hey, Koga.
Hey, it was you. Messing up the scene at Kamata.
I didn't mess up anything. I was turned away.
That's probably what the murderer wanted.
Have another investigation barge in and mess things up.
- You're a problem! - If there's a link
then show me. We're looking for him too.
I said you don't need to!
We're talking about a real live case here.
We have no time to go back to the past.
You used to be in charge of finding a murderer too.
You know what it's like when there's no information.
- What should we do? - Nothing we can do.
We'll do whatever we can.
Let's keep requesting for information.
Boss and Koga-san...
During the Kurata murders,
they were rivals for the top position in their department.
They moved into different groups.
When their positions changed, they started to butt heads.
Shiraishi-san, what about the suspects from 8 years ago?
They all have alibis for
the time of the murder.
So we're back to no clues.
Who was the only one to twist
his head around this idea of the murderers being the same person?
You don't even know that, you muscley idiot.
Hey hey, don't fight. You'll make the food taste bad.
But if it is the same person, that's scary.
The murderer hiding in everyday society,
probably living his daily life in an unremarkable way.
I wonder where he's hiding now.
Like, right behind you?
- You surprised me! - Oh, sorry!
I was attracted to the good smell.
Maybe I'll get some take out too.
- Go ahead and order then. - We'll leave these to you.
Michio, your hair has gotten too long.
- Get a proper cut. - Sorry!
Good work everyone. If you'd like, have some!
- How is it going? - No matter
how many times I look at the ropes
I'm more interested in how he tied them.
There will be tying up in your dreams for sure then.
If I had to say, I'd like to tie someone up more.
Good work.
Some snacks. What?
Fukuzawa-san is that kind of character?
How suspicious. Looking for something about this murder?
Nothing special.
The first case I had as a detective
- was the God of Death case. - So that's why
you noticed the chance it might be the same murderer.
I wasn't just doing it to be dramatic.
First case you were in charge of?
So you do have some sentimentality?
- Forget that, did you find something? - Ah well...
Oh man! I think I found something.
Huh?
I think this particle is sand.
They didn't notice this before.
Sand. Maybe the murderer was a surfer?
You're a great detective Sakuragi.
Sand does not just mean the ocean.
See if it's a specific type of sand
and check if there's sand with any of the other three.
Yep.
First victim: Nosaka Misato-san.
Second victim: Kida Sachiko-san.
Third victim: Sakura Ryoko-san.
Fourth victim: Taguchi Narumi-san.
Link between the 4...
We were disturbed by a sudden event in our house.
Marriage?
He acts in the theater,
life will probably be tough but we intend to do our best together.
Why this so suddenly?
Your father won't approve.
Of course.
- I figured you were against it. - Of course.
We made a reservation at the ceremony hall today.
Why did you do that? We'll never approve of it.
I'm leaving. Going to his place.
We got a call 10 days later.
She had been murdered.
If I knew that was the last day...
The regret is just too much to bear.
What was she doing back then?
- Rookie, spent the night? - Good morning Chief.
How long since you've been back to the nest?
2 days ago...
What is it?
No big deal but, I'm sorry about the smell.
And how goes that? Hearing the voice of the victim's family?
I feel bad. It's the murderer's fault,
but they have all these thoughts
and they actually blame themselves.
Now I just want to do
whatever I can for the families of these victims.
Looking into the victims' behaviors?
I was wondering what kind of person they were.
Maybe that's your field of expertise.
Huh?
Put in some effort and refine your special skill.
Yes.
April 13, 2002. 1 PM.
Nosaka Misato-san was waiting at Shinanomachi Station for her fiance.
Going to Jingu Wedding Village.
They decided on a wedding date and made the wedding hall reservation.
3 PM.
His fiance had a rehearsal, so they parted here.
What was she doing around here for 4 hours?
She knew that her parents would be against it.
It was tough to go home.
She probably was thinking hard about it.
Eh, why? And at an Italian place?
Right right!
She was thinking here about how to bring up the topic of marriage.
But she finally came to a decision.
If they didn't approve, she would leave.
She was planning for happiness, but was murdered 10 days later.
I'm at South Kamata station. We have news of an arrest
and plenty of press are crowding the door.
The suspect in the murder of a woman from Ota District...
What's going on?
The suspect is a rental video store worker,
Yasuoka Koji, 40 years old.
He was arrested by the police
while hiding away at a manga cafe.
The fingerprints of the suspects were found at the scene
and his clothes had the victim's bloodstains on it.
8 years ago, Yasuoka was in prison on assault charges.
So the Kamata murder is completely separate.
Wasn't the same guy after all.
Interior designer Uchiyama Hiroko-san's
hands and feet were tied
and her dead body was found
by what police label as murder and abandoning the body.
This is where we started.
Fukuzawa-san hasn't come huh?
No face to deal with this?
What about our reopened case?
The Chief and Boss are talking about it.
The sand found in
each of the 4 murders then have something in common.
- All 4? - Yeah.
What if that sand was at the Kamata murder scene too?
Then a pretty strong link to the same murderer.
And Yasuoka might not be the right guy.
That can't be the case.
But if it's the same person, there
could be more victims.
Is there anything we can do?
What can we do?
Like, sneaking into police headquarters and taking a peek at that investigation data?
They already said they wouldn't help
and they wouldn't give up the data
- right? - But if we do nothing...
You're asking for a big punishment.
I'm sure the investigation results are on a desk at headquarters.
- All it takes to look is 1 minute. - If you want to do it, go ahead.
- I got it. - Stupid! I'm joking.
If you go they'll spot you in a second.
Well, Tsukamoto-san, before you came here
- you were at South Kamata, right? - So what?
- You know people there, right? - So what?
- You know the area. - So what?
If you're outwitted by Special Investigations,
you won't be able to solve the case.
- You said so, right? - Yeah but...
So then you don't believe your own words?
Hmm? Hmm?
Fukuzawa from Investigations.
You're the journalist working closely with Koga, right?
I'd like to hear how the investigation got to Yasuoka.
I might have positive proof on a big scoop for you.
So we're talking an exchange?
The police are quite an interesting group.
You should be asking each other but you're going to an outsider instead?
Good work today!
- Good work today! - Good work.
What are you doing?
You.
- I'm very sorry. - What kind of
- training are your detectives doing? - Tsukamoto, how was it?
- Shiraishi! - Ah, at the scene
there was the same kind of sand.
Then, there's a possibility the murderer is the same
and that Yasuoka might be the wrong person.
What a stupid thing to say.
I'm sure Yasuoka is denying it.
He just hid a GPS in the lining of the victim's bag.
On the evening of the 23rd, he checked it and it said it was at the Tamagawa riverbed.
So when he went to look there,
Uchiyama Hiroko-san was already dead.
He was confused and tried to recover the GPS, leaving his fingerprints.
He also got bloodstains from it. That's what the evidence says.
- How do you know all that? - I have
no obligation to report that to you Koga-san.
In any case, I'm a police inspector just like you.
Same rank.
I don't remember any right for you to give me orders.
- Come here! - Fukuzawa, stop it!
Koga, you too.
I'll tell you what I think.
There are too many differences between the murder now and back then.
It's useless to think they're the same.
- But there are similar points! - The murder method is different!
The only thing they share is a knife.
And the 4 past murders showed careless stabbing.
The Kamata murder was one stab to the heart.
It's obvious there's almost no chance they're the same person.
Ow!
Chief Nagashima, how will you take responsibility?
Sorry to disrupt the scene.
But if there is a chance the murderer is the same person,
Investigations still has a part to play.
If you want information,
then you can take all the blame afterwards too.
Excuse me.
Speaking for us, I think that was the right move to do.
Is there nothing left that we can do?
Don't forget who you're fighting against.
Just like he said.
There are still some things we can do.
Look up details of the sand,
we need to look at it even closer.
There was sand we didn't find originally back then.
There could still be things to find.
You make it sound so simple.
Back to work.
Can we talk a bit more about Uchiyama Hiroko-san?
I already spoke to the police though.
Could you tell us again one more time? Please.
I became friends with Hiroko right after she joined the company.
We were both Swallows fans.
May 13, 2002. 1 PM.
Taguchi Narumi-san had an appointment at
a gallery in Akasaka.
After the meeting, Narumi-san
went from Aoyama First Block station to Shinjuku.
But she had some time.
What happened then?
Her dream, her first one-woman exhibition.
She must've been happy.
Narumi-san always had a camera with her.
Show me your face. Good!
She wanted to take photos then.
I think.
She walked around and took a lot of happy pictures.
So you're saying all the victims were
walking around the outer gardens of Meiji Shrine?
Yes, look at this. 3 of the victims
were using Shinanomachi, Aoyama First Block and the Outer Garden stations.
And the other victim got off a nearby station and probably walked through the outer gardens themselves.
When you're happy or feeling good,
isn't it natural to take a walk through there?
Weather is good, you might not want to use the train and just walk.
Well, we know Uchiyama Hiroko was going
through the gardens to a baseball game but,
the others are just your guess, right?
I visited the Taguchi house and they showed me
all of Narumi's pictures.
All her pictures from the outer gardens are still around.
From May 13.
The day Narumi-san had her appointment.
Obviously, a sudden unexpected move by her
wouldn't be noticed by the first investigation.
An unexpected change of plans would be quite strange.
- We should look into the activities of the other three. - Go for it then?
Okay, do whatever you can.
- Okay. - There has been a new victim.
Apparel worker, Morishima Fumiko, 28.
I don't know of any connections to the murders 8 years ago,
but it looks like there's a small connection to the Kamata murder.
While they were investigating Yasuoka. They definitely have the wrong person.
I just heard from Director Sakuma at Special Investigations,
the leader of the investigation team has changed.
Finally.
They had no choice but to pass it on to someone else.
Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, another victim appeared.
We have to do whatever we can now to make sure
no more victims are found.
Yes.
The outer gardens of Meiji Shrine?
Is there anything you remember?
I like sweets so,
my daughter would buy stuff from sweet shops for me.
I think that day,
she brought sweets from a shop near the gardens.
- There's a link. - We finished up the background
check on the new victim Morishima Fumiko.
She got off at Sendagaya station and headed
for a cafe near the ginkgo trees.
From the 6, 4 of them are connected here.
I figured out the specific type of sand.
It's a sand from Aomori, made at Rokkshomura and nearby places.
It's used mainly in gardens, horse racing tracks and golf courses.
I've got something too. Not sure
- if it'll help, this new information. - What do you have?
It's not common to all the samples but
on the two recent ones, there's a small bit of leather.
- What's that? - The skin of animals,
when it's dried out. - Excuse me.
I got it! Get out of here!
In the sample, we found sheepskin,
maybe from a jacket, leather pants, or golf gloves.
It's used a lot in them.
Golf course sand and golf gloves.
So for these murders,
he might have observed his victims from the same place.
I walked on the streets just like them.
If you had long hair,
you might've been a target too.
Nothing strange about any of the instructors here.
Shiraishi-san.
We have found a possible suspect.
Part time worker at the practice range, male in his 20s, Goda Naoki.
We looked in his locker
and found golf gloves with blood on them.
- Get a warrant for his arrest. - Got it.
I'll contact Special Investigations to help with the search too.
We're the police. Are you Goda Naoki's father?
Yes, what do the police want with Naoki?
We have a warrant for your son's arrest for murder charges.
Murder? That's stupid...
- Arrest the suspect. - Yes!
My son a murderer?
Are you okay?
- Fukuzawa, how is the 2nd floor? - Not there.
Wasn't there.
Where could he be?
Here.
A basement.
I'm heading down.
I heard from your boss at work.
Your father used to be a pro golfer,
when he retired he worked as an instructor.
Were you thinking about being a pro too?
But you couldn't do it,
and after your father got sick you worked
at the same practice ground in his place as a part timer.
Your mother left home
8 years ago because of an affair, it seems.
That's why you blamed and targeted long black haired women who looked like your mother.
We found this picture in the basement. Your mother, right?
Your mother left on April 23, 2001.
One year later, on the same day, the serial murders began.
That's the reason, right?
Something is strange.
I'll change the question.
Why did it take 8 years to kill again?
Why didn't you cut the hair from these 2 victims?
Why didn't you carve GOD onto them?
Answer.
These murders are causing nothing but trouble for your father.
I'm...I'm sorry.
He spoke.
Why are you apologizing?
I couldn't do it the same way.
The same way? What?
Probably the 4 murders back then.
He's really scared.
Maybe it's the other way?
He wasn't blaming his mother, he was actually longing for her?
I see.
There's someone else who would resent his
- mother more. - Huh?
He's frightened because of that person.
Boss, let me confirm something.
I'm upset.
Why couldn't you cut the hair or
- leave the signature? - I'm sorry.
You're a failure!
Goda Masato. We have a warrant for your arrest on murder.
You had a stroke 8 years ago.
That's why the crimes stopped so suddenly.
I rehabbed for years,
and I could move my body a little bit more but,
I still wasn't free.
But I had a good idea recently instead.
Have my son do it for me instead.
How unfortunate.
We had plans to kill another woman 3 days from now.
I realized the terror of these unsolved cases.
There are all these unsolved cases and the criminals are still in this world.
And they can create new victims if they want to.
Not just victims.
The burden of these murders was passed on,
new criminals can be made too.
As long as the cases aren't solved, the chance for this
will always exist.
So the responsibility to prevent that is on us.
- Good work. - Good work today.
The terrible God of Death crimes from
8 years ago,
were figured out by our Special Investigations group,
who noticed the connection and are prepared to talk all about it.
So they took all the praise.
Solving the case should be all the praise you need.
That's right.
All this talk of praise, Tsukamoto you're greedy.
Greedy? I had to put myself in some dangerous situations for this case.
Well, one unsolved problem of my life is now gone.
- What's that? - The God of Death case
was the first case he was in charge of as a detective.
I get it. So it's that?
Ever since I was born, there has been no problem I
couldn't solve perfectly.
This is all the proof I need for perfection.
- So that's the final word, huh? - Very Fukuzawa like.
Um, the family of the deceased want to visit.
Sorry to make you wait so long
for these past 8 years.
Truly, for listening to our voices,
thank you all so very much.
We can move forward now.