Mother of suspect in Sapporo beheading case sentenced for role in cover-up

Sapporo’s Susukino district. Hiroko Tamura, the mother of a 31-year-old woman suspected of killing and beheading a man in the district in 2023, was sentenced on Wednesday to one year and two months in prison, suspended for three years, for aiding in the mutilation and concealment of a corpse. | REUTERS

JIJI
May 7, 2025

The mother of a 31-year-old woman suspected of killing and beheading a man in Sapporo’s Susukino district in 2023 was sentenced on Wednesday to one year and two months in prison, suspended for three years, for aiding in the mutilation and concealment of a corpse.

The case hinged on whether Hiroko Tamura, 62, had known in advance about her daughter, Runa’s alleged plan to murder the victim and knowingly hid the victim’s head at their home afterward, both claims that she vehemently denied throughout the trial, stating “I didn't intend to help her.”

The killing occurred in July 2023, when Runa allegedly murdered a 62-year-old male company employee inside a love hotel in downtown Susukino. Surveillance footage showed her checking into the hotel with the man and leaving alone the next morning with a suitcase.