Wakayama curry-poisoning incident
| Wakayama curry-poisoning incident | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 和歌山毒物カレー事件 |
| Location | 34°09′13″N 135°06′44″E / 34.1535644°N 135.1123586°E Wakayama, Japan |
| Date | 25 July 1998 17:50 – c. 19:00 (JST) |
Attack type | Poisoning |
| Weapon | Arsenous acid |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Injured | 63 |
| Charges | Murder, attempted murder, fraud |
| Convicted | Masumi Hayashi |
The Wakayama curry-poisoning incident refers to a criminal poisoning case that occurred on 25 July 1998 at a matsuri summer celebration in Wakayama, Japan. A communal pot of curry was intentionally contamined with lethal amounts of arsenic, leading to the hospitalization of 67 attendants, of whom four died.
Three months after the poisoning, 37-year-old Masumi Hayashi (林 眞須美, Hayashi Masumi) was apprehended as the perpetrator based on witness accounts. She was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Hayashi maintained her innocence and repeatedly sought retrial.
Crime
A communal pot of curry being served to residents of Sonobe district, Wakayama, was poisoned with at least 130 grams of arsenic. Two children and two adults died after consuming the curry, and 63 others suffered from acute arsenic poisoning.
Victims
The fatalities were 64-year-old Takatoshi Taninaka and 53-year-old Takaaki Tanaka (council president and vice president of Wakayama, respectively), 10-year-old Hirotaka Hayashi, and 16-year-old Miyuki Torii.[1]
Investigation
Attention quickly focused on Masumi Hayashi (born 22 July 1961), as a witness had seen her at the curry pot, and she had easy access to arsenic because her husband was an insect exterminator. Prior to the murders, Hayashi had been an insurance saleswoman. After her arrest, she and her husband were indicted on a number of insurance fraud charges as well. Hayashi has also been tried for three other attempted murders by poison that had occurred during the previous 10 years, with the motive in those cases being life-insurance benefits. She is believed to have tried to kill her husband at least once. Her motive for poisoning the curry has been said to be anger at her neighbours for shunning her family.
A blue paper cup containing traces of arsenous acid was recovered from the garbage at the festival. The arsenous acid was found to be "very similar" in composition to various arsenic samples from household items recovered at the Hayashi home.[2]
Trial
At her trial she pleaded innocent, but Wakayama District Court sentenced her to death in 2002. On 29 June 2005, Osaka High Court upheld her death sentence. However, her lawyers (Yoshihiro Yasuda among them) insisted on her innocence because only circumstantial evidence existed.[3]
On 21 April 2009, the Supreme Court of Japan rejected her final appeal.[4][5]
In July 2009, Hayashi formally petitioned for a retrial.[6] Wakayama District Court rejected her petition in March 2017. Hayashi appealed to Osaka High Court by April 2017,[7][8] but the request was rejected.[9] A third petition for retrial was filed in June 2021.[9]
Impact
The crime inspired a wave of copycat poisonings.[10]
On 9 June 2021, Masumi's 37-year-old daughter jumped off a bridge at Kansai Airport, killing herself and her four-year-old daughter.[9] Her eldest daughter, 16 years old, was found bludgeoned to death earlier the same day.[9]
In popular culture
The 1998 Wakayama poison curry incident was the primary inspiration for Japanese screenwriter Hisashi Nozawa's 1999 television drama "Kōri no Sekai"[11], starring Yutaka Takenouchi and Nanako Matsushima.[12] The television drama depicts an insurance investigator who investigates an insurance-related murder case.
References
- ^ "Curry victims' kin sue convicted poisoner". The Japan Times. 12 March 2003. Archived from the original on 25 October 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
- ^ 和歌山地方裁判所 平成10年(わ)580号 判決
- ^ "Courts ignore reasonable doubt: lawyers". The Japan Times. 16 November 2006. Archived from the original on 25 October 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
- ^ "Death sentence upheld for Wakayama curry killer". Mainichi Shimbun. 21 April 2009. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
- ^ "Japanese curry killer loses death sentence appeal". Agence France-Presse. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Curry poisoner seeks retrial" Archived 2009-07-27 at the Wayback Machine Kyodo News, "Curry poisoner seeks retrial", Japan Times, July 23, 2009, p. 2.
- ^ "林死刑囚側が即時抗告=毒物カレー再審請求棄却で：時事ドットコム". 時事ドットコム (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ^ "Poisonous curry no appreciation rejected = Claims death row forest demanded - Wakayama district court" (in Japanese). 29 March 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d Shichijo, Roland (14 June 2021). "Woman who plunged to death from airport bridge is daughter of curry-poisoner Masumi Hayashi". tokyoreporter.com. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Japan's 'curry killer' sentenced to death". BBC. 11 December 2002. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
- ^ 氷の世界; Ice World
- ^ "Koori no Sekai". Yay, panda!. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2025.