Love is a powerful force that can lead to both good and bad outcomes. Usually, these are minor, but sometimes a relationship can lead down a dark path to crime and murder.
This was seen in one of Japan’s most disturbing murder cases, the Kitakyushu serial murder case.
Matsunaga Futoshi had what sounded like an unremarkable childhood, though his good grades were mixed in with disciplinary issues. Following his graduation, he married at 19 and had a son, though he continued to cheat on his wife.
| 松永太の息子/YouTube
One of the women he cheated with was Ogata Junko, one of his former classmates. Matsunaga promised to marry her, but Ogata’s mother did not approve of the relationship due to Matsunaga’s abuse.
As a result, he raped Ogata’s mother before lying in order to get her to move in with him.
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In 1985, he bought a building for a futon business, which is where he first began his experiments with torture. Matsunaga would shock electrically shock employees, and by 1992, had defrauded over 2.2 million USD through blackmail and fraud, leading to him and Ogata being placed on Japan’s most wanted list.
Matsunaga’s first believed victim was the son of a married woman whom he convinced to leave her husband for him, who died in September 1993. After scamming her out of around 145,500 USD, the woman mysteriously died in March 1994.
Matsunaga’s first alleged victims.
That same year, a man name Kumio Toraya was blackmailed over details of his criminal history he had revealed to Matsunaga. Kumio and his daughter were held captive in his apartment, where he was tortured with electric shocks, forced to eat his own feces, and his daughter was forced to bite her father.
This torture led to his death, and Matsunaga somehow convinced Kumio’s daughter that she had killed her father, forcing her and Junko to dispose of the remains in the ocean.
Ogata Junko, while under arrest.
After defrauding another woman, who was able to escape, of around 69,000 USD, Junko disappeared, resulting in Matsunaga blackmailing her mother over the earlier rape. Matsunaga faked his own suicide to get Junko to return, raping Junko’s married sister, Rieko, as well and getting around 777,000 USD from their family.
Junko’s family was then held captive by Matsunaga.
A dramatization of the Junko family’s captivity.
During this time, Junko was told to shock her father to the point of death, Rieko and her husband were told to kill Junko’s mother, and a few weeks later, Rieko was strangled to death by her own husband as their ten-year-old daughter held her down. All of this was commanded by Matsunaga, who psychologically controlled them in ways comparable to a cult leader.
Rieko’s husband was confined to a bathroom several weeks later, where he starved to death on April 13, 1998. Matsunaga then forced Junko and Aya to strangle the latter’s five-year-old brother, Yuki. Kumio’s daughter, who was held captive, would later strangle Aya on July 7, 1998.
Kumio’s daughter would make two escape attempts, one in 2001 and another in 2002. During the second, she reported the crimes to the police, leading to the arrests of Junko and Matsunaga. Kumio’s daughter and Junko both testified to their parts in the murders, while Matsunaga attempted to say that the women framed him.
Ultimately, Matsunaga and Junko would receive the death penalty, though Junko’s was later commuted to life in prison. Kumio’s daughter was not charged.
Matsunaga is currently on death row, awaiting his execution.
A Netflix film titled The Forest of Love was released in 2019 and is based on the crimes.
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or has had self-harming thoughts, do not hesitate to reach out to your local confidential support for people in distress or to call the Lifeline. The Lifeline provides free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s # is 988, OR you can call 1-800-273-8255. Crisis Text Line can be reached by texting HOME to 741741 (US), 686868 (Canada), or 85258 (UK).