Indefinite term sought for ex-US Marine over Okinawa murder

November 24, 2017

Naha, Okinawa Pref- Prosecutors demanded Friday an indefinite prison term for a former U.S. Marine accused of murdering a 20-year-old woman in Uruma, Okinawa Prefecture, in April 2016.

The lawyer of Kenneth Shinzato, 33, who was a civilian worker at a US military base in the southernmost Japan prefecture at the time, admitted that his attempt to rape the woman resulted in her death and that he abandoned her body, but denied any intention to kill her, in his trial at Naha District Court.

The focus is on whether Shinzato is judged to have intended to murder the women. A court decision will be delivered on Dec. 1.

Prosecutors said that Shinzato's descriptions after he was arrested, such as on stabbing the victim's neck several times, were detailed and can be trusted. Noting that the accused prepared a knife beforehand, prosecutors claimed that the murder was planned and his intention to kill her is therefore understood.

An attorney of the woman's family demanded the death sentence for Shinzato.

Shinzato's lawyer, however, claimed that the possibility the women died after hitting her head hard when she fell cannot be eliminated.

During the first court hearing earlier this month, Shinzato said that he had not intended to kill her and then fell silent.

The defendant said in the final statement on Friday that he is not originally a bad person, again denying any murderous intent.

According to the indictment, Shinzato allegedly attempted to sexually assault the woman on a street in the city of Uruma around 10 p.m. on April 28, 2016, hit her on the head with a rod and stabbed her neck several times with a knife, resulting in her death. He is also suspected of abandoning the victim's body in a forest in the neighboring village of Onna. Jiji Press