Society

Police appeal for help from public over 2008 murder of 15-year-old girl

May 04 (Japan Today) - Police in Toyota City on Monday appealed to the public for any information that might help apprehend the person or persons who killed a 15-year-old girl in 2008.

Each year since the murder of Manami Shimizu, police have handed out leaflets at Toyota and Chiryu stations, as well as six other nearby locations, but did not do so in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus. On Monday, officers once again handed out leaflets at the stations, Kyodo News reported. A few local residents placed flowers at the site where the body of Shimizu was found and observed a moment of silence.

Shimizu was found dead at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday May 3, 2008, in a rice field in Toyota City, about one kilometer from her home in Ikoma. She was lying on her back, with a small hand towel stuffed into her mouth and a cord around her neck, next to her bicycle. Her school bag was later found on a riverbank some 15 km away.

A family acquaintance found the body after her family, friends and police began searching for Shimizu when she did not return home after going to her high school, attached to Aichi University of Education, the day before.

She attended a practice session of the high school's soccer team that ended at 6:30 p.m. Friday May 2, and left school by bicycle at around 6:45 p.m. That was the last time she was seen alive. ...continue reading

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