Posted on 05/09/2003 2:48:29 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
By Ryann Connell
Staff Writer
April 3, 2003
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| A police sketch of the suspect. | |
It's a common joke to complain about how violent women can be riding their bicycles around the streets of Japan's cities. But one woman, who by all accounts resembles an average housewife, has managed through a series of chilling attacks to put the city of Nagoya in a state of terror.
"I wondered whether what was happening right before my eyes wasn't some sort of dream, or at least a mistake. I didn't think what I was seeing could be reality and my legs were shaking like jelly. I was terrified, so I moved away from the window. I went to the toilet and washed my face. When I went back to the window, I saw a woman collapsed on the ground," a resident of Nagoya's Kita-ku tells Shukan Bunshun (4/17), referring to the fatal attack on nurse Etsuko Sugaya on March 31.
Nagoya's Housewife Hacker first struck just as night was descending on Kita-ku. Etsuko and a girlfriend had been out shopping and were just meters from the 22-year-old nurse's nearby home when a woman rode up on a bicycle behind them and asked for directions.
Surprised, the two young women turned around to be greeted by a middle-aged woman wearing a red jacket. As Etsuko stood beside the woman to tell her the route she was looking for, the woman suddenly whipped out a knife she had been carrying in a bag placed in the basket at the front of her bicycle. The woman thrust the knife into Etsuko's abdomen and turned her attention to the nurse's friend, snatching her handbag containing 6,000 yen in cash and fleeing on her bicycle.
"Etsuko was only stabbed once. Her friend says they'd never met the woman who stabbed her before. After she was stabbed, Etsuko held her side and ran the several meters to her parents' home to ask for help," an investigation source tells Shukan Bunshun.
A taxi driver was near the scene shortly after Etsuko was attacked.
"I heard this scream. Just as I was wondering what it was, this young woman came rushing around a corner. She seemed to be holding something near her stomach and was bent over slightly. I thought she must have been molested, but she screamed out for me to call for an ambulance," the cabby tells Shukan Bunshun. "Just as I called for help, another young woman came running up. I asked the second woman what had happened and she told me her friend had suddenly been stabbed by a woman asking for directions. I called the cops straight away."
By the time Etsuko arrived at her home, her condition was already critical.
"I'd just start putting water in the bath," the neighbor says. "I think it must have been Etsuko's sister, but somebody screamed out, 'Mom, she's been stabbed. Call an ambulance.' I was surprised, so I took a peep outside and Etsuko was with her father, screaming in agony, 'I've been stabbed, call an ambulance.' When it arrived, Etsuko was carried out on a stretcher, which was soon covered in blood. She had a towel or something wrapped around her face, but the blood had dyed that red, too. Her pale face was a frightening contrast. She was mumbling something as the paramedics took her away. I shouted out 'Good Luck' to her, but she didn't reply."
An ambulance was called at 7:53 p.m. and arrived at the scene at 7:59 p.m.
"(Etsuko) was lying in a pool of blood at the entrance to her home and screaming in pain," a paramedic tells Shukan Bunshun. "Half her intestines were hanging out. Anybody could have seen she was in trouble."
Indeed, despite the best efforts of medical staff, Etsuko succumbed to her wounds two days later. Before she had passed away, however, the Housewife Hacker had already struck again, this time targeting Misato Endo, a resident of nearby Chikusa-ku.
"Misato was trying to hail a cab, when the woman came up to her and stuck the knife into her stomach. The two women started fighting on the streets, and Misato's arms, hands and fingers were cut. The attacker had left a bike hidden away beside a nearby condominium. She grabbed the bicycle and rode off in a westerly direction. Misato sustained some serious injuries in the attack, but she'll live," a reporter for a local newspaper tells Shukan Bunshun.
A man riding his bicycle saw the entire attack.
"I heard this scream. When I looked in the direction it came from, I saw a couple of women fighting like they were trying to grab hold of a rock star or something. It lasted about 30 seconds and there was nobody else around. One of the women grabbed a black bag the other had been carrying. She then picked up a bicycle she'd hidden behind a building and rode away," he tells Shukan Bunshun. "I rode up to the woman who'd been stabbed and was covered in blood. Even though she'd just been attacked, she was picking up the key holder, cigarettes and hair cream that had fallen out of her bag. Her black pantyhose had been ripped to shreds and her pink T-shirt was drenched with blood. Blood was dripping of her fingers, so I asked her what had happened. She told me she had been stabbed. I rode after the attacker, but she was already nowhere in sight. Luckily, a police patrol car came by, so I flagged it down. I gave them a detailed description of the woman who did it. The area was covered in blood."
The attacks on Etsuko and Misato occurred within 3.5 kilometers of each other. It seems likely they had the same perpetrator.
"Both attacks were carried out by a pudgy, middle-aged woman riding a bicycle and using a knife. And the victims were both young women," a police source says. "Using side streets to make a getaway suggests the attacker knows the area. We have, however, ruled out the possibility the attacks were carried out by a man in drag."
Etsuko's attacker was described as being from 40 to 50 and standing some 150 to 160 centimeters with a medium build. She had long hair and wore it in a ponytail. She was also wearing large-framed glasses and a red coat.
Misato's assailant was described as being from her mid-30s to her mid-40s and slightly fat. She had dyed her hair a chestnut brown color and held it back from her face with a hair band.
Etsuko's parents don't want to speak to the media about their daughter's demise. The friend who was with her at the time of the attack remains frightened.
"Nights have become scary," she tells Shukan Bunshun. "For a while, I couldn't get my legs to work the way I wanted to. But now I just want to be left alone."
Maybe she died.
Indeed, despite the best efforts of medical staff, Etsuko succumbed to her wounds two days later.
Just a question for any FReepers of the Hypocratic persuasion, if you've got a knife in your gut, isn't it best to leave it there and let medical professionals take it out?
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