Watanabe Minoru
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Murderer's death penalty upheld
Friday, Feb. 29, 2008
SENDAI (Kyodo) The Sendai High Court on Thursday upheld the death penalty for a 58-year-old man convicted of killing two people in Fukushima Prefecture in 2001.
Minoru Watanabe was accused of killing Miyoko Nakajima, 77, in conspiracy with others by running her over with a car to obtain ¥2.3 million in insurance money.
He was also convicted of murdering Katsushige Umino, 63, who had quarreled with him over another murder-for-insurance plan.
Watanabe's lawyers plan to appeal.
They had sought leniency, saying he did not mastermind the crimes, while prosecutors asked the court to reject his appeal against the June 2006 ruling by the Fukushima District Court's Koriyama branch that declared him the main culprit.
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Watanabe Junichi
No English Reportage on this case. Very Strange.
★２００９年（平成２１年）３月１９日、東京高裁で架空請求詐欺グループの仲間割れ４人リンチ死事件で、殺人と傷害致死などの罪に問われたグループ幹部の渡辺純一（３２歳）の控訴審判決があり、長岡哲次裁判長は、無期懲役とした１審判決を破棄し、死刑を言い渡した。検察側が控訴し、死刑を求めていた。判決によると、渡辺は２００４年１０月１３～１６日、主犯格の清水大志（２９歳/１審死刑、控訴中）らと共謀して４人を東京都新宿区内のグループの事務所に監禁し、鼻と口をふさいで２人を殺害、背中に熱湯をかけるなどして２人を死なせた。
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