is a Japanese woman convicted of putting
poison
Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
in a pot of
curry being served at a 1998
summer festival in the Sonobe district of
Wakayama, Wakayama, Japan.
Crime
A communal pot of curry being served to residents of Sonobe district, Wakayama, was poisoned with at least 1,000 grams of
arsenic — enough to kill over 100 people — on July 25, 1998.
Two children and two adults died after consuming the curry, and 63 others suffered from
acute arsenic poisoning. Killed in the incident were 64-year-old Takatoshi Taninaka and 53-year-old Takaaki Tanaka (council president and vice president of Wakayama, respectively), 10-year-old Hirotaka Hayashi, and 16-year-old Miyuki Torii.
Attention quickly focused on 37-year-old mother of four Masumi Hayashi, as a witness had seen her at the curry pot, and she had easy access to arsenic because her husband was an insect exterminator. Prior to the murders, Hayashi had been an insurance saleswoman. After her arrest, she and her husband were indicted on a number of insurance fraud charges as well. Hayashi was also tried for three other attempted murders by poison that had occurred during the previous 10 years, with the motive in those cases being life-insurance benefits. She is believed to have tried to kill her husband at least once. Her motive for poisoning the curry has been said to be anger at her neighbours for shunning her family. The arsenic found in the curry was identical to the arsenic she had in her own home from her husband's extermination business.
Trial
At her trial she pleaded innocent, but Wakayama District Court sentenced her to death in 2002. On June 28, 2005,
Osaka High Court
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
upheld her death sentence. However, her lawyers (
Yoshihiro Yasuda
Yoshihiro Yasuda (安田 好弘 ''Yasuda Yoshihiro'', born December 4, 1947) is a famed and controversial lawyer in Japan who is known for his anti-death penalty activism. With the death penalty being a prominent method of prosecution in the Japa ...
among them) insisted on her innocence because only circumstantial evidence existed.
On April 21, 2009, the
Supreme Court of Japan rejected her final appeal.
In July 2009, Hayashi formally petitioned for a retrial. Wakayama District Court rejected her petition in March 2017. Hayashi appealed to Osaka High Court by April 2017, but the request was rejected.
A third petition for retrial was filed in June 2021.
Impact
Hayashi's case gained public attention. The crime inspired a wave of copycat poisonings.
On June 9, 2021, Masumi's 37-year-old daughter jumped off a bridge at Kansai Airport, killing herself and her 4-year-old daughter.
Her 16-year-old daughter was found bludgeoned to death earlier the same day.
References
External links
''New York Times'' story about her convictionPoisonous Year for Japan
'' BBC''
Japan poison arrests
'' BBC''
Stampede at curry poison trial
'' BBC''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayashi, Masumi
1961 births
Mass murder in 1998
1998 in Japan
Japanese mass murderers
Japanese murderers of children
Japanese fraudsters
Living people
People from Wakayama Prefecture
Poisoners
Japanese female murderers
Japanese prisoners sentenced to death
Prisoners sentenced to death by Japan
Japanese people convicted of murder
People convicted of murder by Japan
Mass murder in Japan