Former Wife Pleads Not Guilty to Murder of “Don Juan of Kishu”

Jiji Press

16:56 JST, September 12, 2024

Wakayama, Sept. 12 (Jiji Press) — The 28-year-old then wife of a wealthy businessman nicknamed “Don Juan of Kishu” in western Japan pleaded not guilty to murdering the man, then 77, during the first court hearing of her lay-judge trial on Thursday.

Saki Sudo is charged with murdering Kosuke Nozaki, who died of acute stimulant poisoning in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, in May 2018, and violating the stimulant drug control law. Kishu is the old name of a region that includes Wakayama.

At Wakayama District Court on the day, Sudo, wearing a black dress, black sandals and a face mask, said in a frail yet clear voice, “I did not kill him or make him take stimulants.” She looked slightly thinner than she did at the time of the incident.

Prosecutors are seen trying to prove her guilt based on circumstantial evidence gathered during the investigation, as there is little direct evidence of her involvement in her husband’s death. Meanwhile, the defense plans to fully contest the charges.

In its opening statement on Thursday, the prosecution noted that Sudo had searched phrases such as “perfect crime” and “stimulant overdose” on the internet and watched a video on murder by poisoning, and argued, “She married for the victim’s wealth.”

According to the indictment, Sudo allegedly killed Nozaki on May 24, 2018, by making him take a lethal dose of a stimulant drug with murderous intent.

Wakayama prefectural police arrested the woman in 2021, claiming that she had contact with a drug trafficker before the incident, while there was no trace of regular stimulant use by Nozaki, and that she and the victim were alone during the time Nozaki is believed to have taken the stimulant.

The court is expected to hold around two hearings a week on the case and hand down the verdict on Dec. 12.

Before Thursday’s hearing, a total of 171 people lined up for the 47 available seats in the courtroom gallery.