OSAKA (TR) – A court here has upheld a previous ruling that acquitted a 30-year-old woman of murdering her wealthy husband, who was known as the “Don Juan of Kishu,” reports Nippon News Network (Mar. 23).
Sudo had been charged with murdering her ex-husband, businessman Kosuke Nozaki at his home in Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture by administering a lethal dose of methamphetamine in May 2018.
On Monday, the Osaka High Court acquitted Saki Sudo of murder and violating the Stimulants Control Act .
In the first trial at the Wakayama District Court, Sudo maintained her innocence. Meanwhile the prosecution presented circumstantial evidence, including that Sudo had searched for terms like “methamphetamine death” on her smartphone.
Saki Sudo at the Osaka High Court on Monday (X)
Nozaki, aged 77 at the time of his death, called himself “Don Juan of Kishu.” In several books penned by Nozaki, he claimed to have slept with 4,000 women and provided them a total of 3 billion yen in remuneration.
Prior to his death, Nozaki ran several businesses. His estate is valued at 1.3 billion yen.
In upholding the ruling, the Osaka High Court stated that the previous ruling was “not unreasonable” in dismissing the prosecution’s appeal.
Regarding smartphone search history, the court pointed out that “people sometimes simply input their interests.”
The Osaka High Public Prosecutors Office stated that it would “carefully examine the judgment and respond appropriately.”
AloJapan.com