How to decide on cigarette butts? President Ohsho shot to death, sentenced on 16th - Kyoto District Court

On the 16th, the Kyoto District Court (presiding judge Atsushi Nishikawa) will hand down a sentence on Yukio Tanaka (59), a member of the Kudo-kai group, a designated dangerous organized crime group, who was charged with murder and other crimes in the 2013 shooting death of Takayuki Daito, then 72, who was the president of Ohsho Food Service (Kyoto City), which operates the ``Gyoza no Ohsho'' chain. The issue is the culprit, and given the lack of direct evidence of the defendant's involvement, the focus is on how circumstantial evidence such as cigarette butts will be judged.

Former employee: ``It's not over.'' Demanding full explanation - President Osho's shooting death trial

At the first trial in November of last year, the defendant denied the charges, saying, ``I am by no means the criminal.As someone who aspires to the path of chivalry, I am willing to accept one or two incidents, but I absolutely cannot accept a sensational incident.'' The defendant refused subsequent questioning, and in his final statement of opinion, he again pleaded not guilty.

At trial, the prosecution argued that the defendant ambushed Daito by himself in front of the company's headquarters while smoking two cigarettes, and shot Daito at close range as she arrived for work, before fleeing on a stolen motorcycle. The DNA type found in the saliva on two cigarette butts found near the crime scene matched that of the defendant, and the way the cigarette butts were extinguished made it unlikely that a third party brought them in.

The defendant also alleges that he was involved in the theft of another motorcycle that may have been used in the incident, and requested a life sentence, saying, ``This was a well-prepared, organized, and planned crime, with extremely high levels of anti-social behavior.'' ``It seems that there is a mastermind behind the crime who wants to carry out the crime,'' he said, but did not mention the motive or background for targeting the top of a listed company.

On the other hand, the defense argued that the white ash left when smoking a cigarette was not found, and emphasized that ``the criminal left behind the cigarette butt in order to trap the defendant.'' There are also disputes over the credibility of DNA testing.

Murder charges are subject to a jury trial, but the case was tried only by a judge because of the risk of harm to the jury members and their families.

According to the indictment, in the early morning hours of December 19, 2013, the defendant allegedly conspired with an unnamed person to shoot Daito in the chest and stomach with a handgun in the parking lot in front of Ohsho's headquarters in Yamashina Ward, Kyoto City, killing her.