J-Pop Star Mayu Tomita’s Alleged Stabber Faces 17-Year Sentence
Mayu Tomita’s attacker is facing a 17-year prison sentence for allegedly stabbing the J-pop idol over 20 times in 2016, the Japan Times reports.
The suspect, Tomohiro Iwazaki, was arrested and charged for allegedly stabbing Tomita. According to the Japan Times, Iwazaki had been stalking the 21-year-old singer and had attacked her after she rejected gifts he had sent her.
Tomita recently appeared in court to testify against her alleged attacker. During her appearance, she said that she did not believe that he felt any remorse for the act.
“I don’t believe (the defendant) has reflected upon his act at all,” Mayu Tomita said.
She also made a heartbreaking admission about wanting to go back to the life she had before she was stabbed.
“I want him to return the life that I was supposed to live. I want him to return my body without scars,” Tomita said.
Mayu Tomita, l'idol poignardée le 21 mai dernier, est sortie du comahttps://t.co/oI9DvCGQx5 #Japon #TomitaMayu pic.twitter.com/laEIiHCkyZ
— Nautiljon (@nautiljon) June 13, 2016
“I hope [Iwazaki] rots in jail for the rest of his life,” Tomita added, Arama Japan reports. “I can’t help but be afraid for my life. Who knows if he’ll hold a grudge at me and kill me for real next time.”
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The Japan Times reports that the suspect shouted, “Then you should kill me!” in response to Tomita’s statements. He was subsequently removed from the courtroom.
The indictment states that Iwazaki became incensed when Mayu Tomita returned a watch and books he had sent to her. He tried to have a conversation with her at a train station on May 21, 2016, near a venue where she was scheduled to perform. Then he allegedly stabbed her with a pocketknife over 20 times.
According to Arama Japan, Mayu Tomita suffered wounds in her neck, hands, arms, and chest.
“It was remarkably vicious,” the prosecutors said in their final statements. “He was relentless and brutal in stabbing the victim, who was unable to escape.”
Arama Japan reports that Mayu had filed a complaint about the accused attacker with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, claiming that he had been repeatedly sending her messages on social media.
The Straits Times reports that Iwazaki sent her 400 tweets which indicated that he had obsessive feeling towards Tomita.
She also accused the Tokyo police of inaction for their response to her complaint.
“I explained every detail about the danger I felt at that time and also told the police officers about my worries and fear that I could be killed.” Tomita said in a letter last year that blasted the police, according to the Straits Times.
The police officers that Tomita spoke to said that they did not think that she feared being physically attacked at the time but that she wanted them to stop Iwazaki from sending her messages online.
Because they did not suspect that she was in any imminent danger, these police officers did not forward her complaint to the division that handles stalking cases.
“When police were questioning me about the details, the first thing they ask was ‘Do you really think he might have murdered you?'” Tomita said in her letter criticizing the police. “I specifically told them the words ‘I might be murdered.’ I’m done being angry about it, and now it’s just upsetting.”
According to Arama Japan, police have since apologized to Mayu Tomita for how her case was handled with the admission that the officers who took her complaint “should have realized they needed to take better security measures for her safety as soon as possible.”
[Featured Image by VICHAILAO/Thinkstock]
