Makiko Tsuchiyama: The Girl Whose Murderer Tried to Kill Her Twice
One month after a two-year-old child was found unconscious in a drainage ditch, she was found at the exact same spot again, this time dying with strangle marks. Who killed Makiko Tsuchiyama?
It was October 19,1984 in Higashiosaka, Osaka, Japan. Two-year-old Makiko Tsuchiyama was found unconscious in a drainage ditch near her home.
She was immediately brought to the hospital — and survived luckily. However, luck wouldn’t last long.
This incident, ruled an accident, was only the start of a mystery surrounding the little girl.
Makiko Tsuchiyama Found Killed
One month after this first incident, Makiko played outside again at around 2PM on November 24; yet she remained cautious after what happened to her on October 19.
Because of this, she avoided the place where she was found initially. Even more mysterious was it when Makiko was found unconscious at the very same spot again.
Just like on that October day, her family rushed Makiko to the hospital, who waited in fear for news about their daughter’s state.
Woeful were the news that arrived nine hours later: Makiko Tsuchiyama was declared dead.
Her death, which seems to be a tragic accident at first sight, isn’t so much as what it appears to be.
Not Just an Accident
Bruises on Makiko’s neck indicated a different picture. She was clearly strangled by someone.
Only after her death did police become suspicious that this first incident in October wasn’t an accident, since Makiko already showed bruises on her neck back then.
Police said at first that these were caused by a hook where Makiko got trapped in, but that explanation changed swiftly after her death.
Investigation in the Case of Makiko Tsuchiyama
A criminal investigation was issued in the immediate aftermath of her death. Investigators assumed that a killer lured behind Makiko while she played outside alone.
That is supported by the fact that Makiko showed no defense marks on her. Another opportunity is that she was killed in a different place before her body was dropped in the drainage ditch.
That would support why nobody saw somebody suspicious in the neighborhood on that day.
However, Makiko’s death is much more complicated and mysterious. Right after Makiko died, her grandfather, who also lived in Higashiosaka, received a weird phone call.
On the phone spoke an unidentified woman unintelligible words, accompanied by cries.
The only words Makiko’s grandfather could understand were “Excuse me,” before hanging up.
That was not the only unexplainable phone call. For days after Makiko’s death, her grandfather received several more phone calls, but these time all of them were filled with silence.
Whether the phone calls have a connection or not to Makiko Tsuchiyama’s death, they only make the case more mysterious.
To this day, it remains a mystery, with more questions than answers. Who killed the little child? Why did she have to die?
Did the phone calls have something to do with Makiko’s case? Why did nobody see something? Was Makiko acquainted with her killer?
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