was a

pin-up model A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

and aspiring

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

for an agency in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. She was murdered by her 21-year-old brother (born 1985) on December 30, 2006. Her death aroused the tabloids' notice for the circumstances surrounding the crime.

Life and career

Muto's father and mother were both

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

s and she was brought up in a relatively affluent environment, but she was rebellious against her parents and ran away from her home between December 2004 and May 2005. Her stage name, which she had chosen herself, was . She filled the role of a supporting actor on an

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

-themed

V-Cinema Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

adaptation of ''

Cream Lemon is an early hentai series. The first ''Cream Lemon'' OVA was released in August 1984, though ''Cream Lemon'' was not the first hentai OVA. The first was ''Lolita Anime'', released earlier in February 1984. Related to ''Cream Lemon'' ...

''. Her role was a woman who wore a blue commando uniform. After her death, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office denied Yuki's incestuous interest in Azumi, which some tabloids had suspected. She also made her stage debut in 2006. Her final performance, as that of a nurse, took place on December 10, 2006. She apparently had told her friends that there were problems in the family regarding her brother's mental state a few days before the murder took place.

Death

On December 30, 2006 in Tokyo, Yuki beat her with a wooden sword, and strangled her with a towel. She was finally drowned in a bath. He dismembered her body with a saw and a large knife. He was arrested on January 4, 2007. He hid the body parts in various places in his room in

Hatagaya is an area within Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Origins It is said the origin of the name Hatagaya, comes from the year 1082, when Minamoto no Yoshiie was returning to his home and stopped in the area and washed a white flag, put it up on a pole ...

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

. Yuki sliced off his sister's

breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and secret ...

s and

genitals A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

after he killed her. He put them through the

garbage disposal A garbage disposal unit (also known as a waste disposal unit, garbage disposer, garburator etc.) is a device, usually electrically powered, installed under a kitchen sink between the sink's drain and the trap. The disposal unit shreds food was ...

in the sink. He said that it was in order to hide her gender after the police found the body. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office said that Yuki was not a

necrophile Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction towards or a sexual act involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ' ...

nor a

cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...

. Yuki was bothered by his younger sister Azumi teasing him about being a failure and telling him that he had "no ambition" in life. It was apparently the talk of him having no ambition that prompted him to murder his sister. Yuki had failed repeatedly to pass college entrance exams. Prosecutors claim this pressure contributed to his psychotic stress. Later, the police were criticized for abandonment of his weapons. On May 12, 2008, prosecutors requested 17 years imprisonment for Yuki, whereas his psychiatrist claimed that he had

diminished responsibility In criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental f ...

or was

criminally insane The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic psychiatric disease at the time of the cr ...

. On May 27, 2008, the

Tokyo District Court is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.Supreme Court of Japan websit東京地方裁判所の紹介Retrieved on August 7, 2011 See also *Judicial system of Japan The judiciary (also known as the judicial sys ...

sentenced him to 7 years imprisonment, saying that he was criminally insane when he dismembered her body. On April 28, 2009, however, the

Tokyo High Court is a high court in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The is a special branch of Tokyo High Court. Japan has eight high courts: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sendai, Sapporo, and Takamatsu. Each court has jurisdiction over one of ...

revoked his original sentence, sentencing him to 12 years.

Film

くりいむレモンプールサイドの亜美
AMG entertainment, October 27, 2006

References

External links

*

''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'', January 6, 2007
Slaying suspect cites exam pressure
''

'', January 8, 2007
Man admits drowning, dismembering sister
''

'', August 1, 2007
Well-to-do family shattered by brutal murder of would-be starlet by psychotic sibling
''

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

'', January 12, 2007 ''(archived)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Muto, Azumi 1986 births 2006 deaths Deaths by drowning Japanese actresses Japanese murder victims People murdered in Tokyo People from Tokyo Sororicides Violence against women in Japan