In my seminar, where I major in criminal psychology, students research and give presentations on the outline of criminal trials and the background of cases. In particular, when it comes to murder cases such as serial murders and random assassinations, we place emphasis on uncovering the motives of the perpetrators (suspects).
We will unravel the case using various media, including newspaper articles from the time of the incident, news footage, court rulings, books about the incident, and films.
Nowadays, you can collect various descriptions by searching the Internet, but unlike newspapers and news footage, the Internet is full of information of unknown origin, so you need the ability to verify its veracity and determine the facts.
To clarify a motive, it is necessary to consider various factors, such as the perpetrator's age, family background, financial situation, hobbies, preferences, sexual tendencies, and the location of the crime.
In adult cases, where the trial is open and the court records, such as the verdict, can be read, it is relatively easy to understand, but in juvenile cases and other closed trials (so-called trials), it is also necessary to make inferences to clarify the matter.
In Kobe City1997The Kobe serial child murders that occurred in 2005 were committed by14A boy of the age of2From the moon5Elementary school students by the month5It was a shocking incident in which two people were attacked and killed.
Furthermore, the perpetrator, a young boy who called himself "Sakakibara Seito," sent a criminal manifesto to a newspaper, causing a stir in the media for days as a "theatrical crime."
The crime was discovered in a particularly bizarre way: the head of the murdered boy was placed on top of the main gate of a municipal junior high school in Kobe.
The torso was discovered by police officers searching the area in the mountains (Tank Mountain) near the junior high school where the head had been placed.
Approximately 100 years have passed since the boy's body was discovered.1Months later, "BoyAIs said14A year-old boy was arrested and found to be the culprit behind the series of murders.
Mainichi Newspapers1997Years10Month1The full text of the "Summary of the Kobe Family Court Decision" published in the morning edition of the 8th included the following:ARegarding the upbringing of the victim and the psychological background that led to the crime
The boy was born as the eldest son, and was raised with stricter discipline than his younger brothers, due to the expectations of his parents and family. As a result, the boy gradually became less open about his feelings towards his parents, especially his mother.
When the boy was in the fifth grade of elementary school, his grandmother, with whom he lived, passed away. His grandmother sometimes protected him, as he had received strict discipline, and he would often run into her room. The connection to his grandmother's death is unclear, but it was around this time that he began dissecting slugs and frogs. This tendency continued, and by the sixth grade of elementary school, he had begun catching and dissecting cats. However, when he entered his first year of junior high school, he was no longer able to catch and dissect cats due to club activities and a curfew set by his parents, and by that time his desire to kill cats had developed into an urge to attack people. However, because attacking people in real life would result in punishment, for nearly two years he indulged in murderous fantasies, relieving and suppressing his sexual urges. However, gradually, the desire to actually kill someone grew, and although the boy continued to attend school, he lost his motivation to study, did not open up to his teachers, did not play with friends, played alone on Tank Mountain, and even at home, he played alone in the dim light with the curtains closed during the day, preferred rainy days, and was plagued by homicidal delusions. The boy's mother could no longer understand his feelings. The boy became depressed, thinking that he was different and abnormal, and that he wished he had never been born and that his life was worthless, but he created a self-righteous logic to justify his murderous impulses, such as that the world is a world of the survival of the fittest, and that if he is strong, he can kill and dominate the weak.
The juvenile court found him to be responsible for his actions.
Based on the learning in these seminars, we will study the crime scene, "Tank Mountain," where the torso of the body was discovered, the municipal junior high school where the head was placed,2month,3I actually walked around the area where the girl was attacked and killed, and I alsoAThe off-campus class was held with the aim of allowing the students to experience the location of the crime in relation to the places where the victim boys lived, the distance that the boys could travel on foot or by bicycle, and to get a firsthand feel that the crime was committed in the living area of those involved in the crime (a quiet residential area on the outskirts of Kobe City).
The scene of this incident is located on the Kobe Municipal Subway from our university's Kobe Yamate campus.20It is located about 10 minutes away, and we were able to have on-site experience during class time.
Many years later, it was discovered that the Kobe Family Court had destroyed case records, and this case became the catalyst for the Supreme Court to establish a new system for storing and handling court records.
If we can analyze court records from multiple angles, it will be of great help in further research into the psychology of suspects.
I want students studying criminal psychology to learn in a practical way by using their five senses through records and their own experiences.
Citation
Mainichi Newspapers1997Years10Month1Full text of the "Summary of the Kobe Family Court Decision" published in the morning edition of the 8th
(2025Years8Month5(day access)
