By admin A man convicted of two murders that sparked media fury in Japan in 1994 died Monday after he was found beaten and stabbed in his cell at Halawa Correctional Facility on Oahu, according to law enforcement officials.
Raita Fukusaku (59) served almost 30 years for shooting the Japanese fortune teller Toako “Kototome” Fujita and her son Goro. Toako Fujita’s body was found in a burned-out apartment in Honolulu. The next day, her son’s body was found in a car parked nearby.
Toako Fujita was well known because she was consulted by Japanese political and corporate leaders. Fukusaku was arrested after trying to pawn her jewelry in Japan.
According to media reports at the time, Fukusaku was the first Japanese citizen charged with murder to be extradited to the United States.
Raita Fukusaku died after he was found beaten and stabbed in his cell at Halawa Correctional Facility. (Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2015)
Fukusaku was accused of shooting both victims, but he denied pulling the trigger. He claimed that the Japanese “yakuza”, i.e. representatives of organized crime, were to blame, but he was found guilty and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murders.
The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Fukusaku was found unconscious and bleeding on the floor of his cell. Honolulu police said he was found at 11:30 p.m. He was a general population inmate described by prison staff as obedient.
Raita Fukusaku spent almost 30 years in Halawa prison. (Courtesy: Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
“The victim was found to have been attacked and stabbed by his cellmate, a 38-year-old man,” Honolulu police said, adding that a weapon was seized. A statement from prison officials said he also suffered head and neck injuries.
The statement said jail staff immediately called 911 and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until emergency medical personnel arrived and took over. Emergency medical personnel pronounced the prisoner dead.
Prison authorities said Fukusaku’s cellmate was immediately removed from his cell and placed in solitary confinement. The cellmate has not been publicly identified.
This is the second murder of a Hawaii prison inmate this year. On May 4, Anton Myklebust, 46, was found beaten and strangled in his cell at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona.
The Department of State Law Enforcement’s Criminal Investigations Division is investigating Fukusaku’s death. The Department of Corrections said corrections officials and HPD are also investigating the case.
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