“Chilling ‘Savage Lynching’ Incident Leaves 1 Dead in Kochi: 5 Arrested.
About 5 kilometers away from Kochi Station, alongside a road bordering a densely wooded expressway, a gruesome incident unfolded. On the morning of September 27th, just after 4:30 AM, police officers rushed to the scene following reports of a fight between two men that resulted in severe bleeding. What they encountered in the pitch-black darkness, where even the glow of streetlights couldn’t reach, was a young man with fists stained in blood. Nearby, another man in his 20’s lay motionless with a broken nose, his life had already been taken.
On the 28th, the Kochi Prefectural Police arrested suspect Ryowa Nagahashi (age 23), who was present at the scene, on charges of causing bodily harm. Furthermore, by the 29th, they had arrested his brother, Yusho Nagahashi (age 25), along with suspects Taiga Taoka (age 22), Tomoya Takahashi (age 23), and Shogo Morita (age 24), all on the same charges.
A Harrowing ‘Savage Lynching’ Involving 5 Arrests
All five suspects are accused of repeatedly assaulting a man in his 20’s, inflicting severe injuries, including a broken nose, which required two months of medical treatment. Additionally, they are under scrutiny for their potential involvement in the death of another man in his 20’s, who was found at the scene with a broken nose and had already passed away. Police are proceeding cautiously with their investigation.
A Gruesome Prolonged Lynching Occurred in the Darkness
“It appears that the two victims and the five suspects had met for the first time, but it seems that a dispute over illegal drugs may have triggered the crime. The assault took place between 8:30 PM on the 26th and lasted for about an hour, during which the male victim was subjected to a brutal beating by a group of assailants. The other male victim who lost his life is believed to have been assaulted until the early hours of the morning, indicating a prolonged and gruesome lynching that occurred in the darkness.”
“They Never Even Went to High School” Local residents who knew the five suspects reveal, “They are a group of local delinquents who graduated from the nearby middle school. Recently, they were all helping out with the work at the demolition company run by Yusho, the older brother. It’s the kind of job where they demolish houses to make way for new developments. I don’t think any of them attended high school.”
“Yusho claimed to be the representative of ‘Yuko-gyo,’ although it was not officially incorporated. His younger brother, Ryowa, held the number two position. The others occasionally pitched in, and one of them was even doing Amazon deliveries.”
“Yusho isn’t very tall, just a bit over 170 cm, but he has tattoos covering him from his neck down to his palms. He had a tough appearance. Raised by a single parent with two siblings, he didn’t have an easy upbringing. Now, he is the responsible father of two children.”
Yusho, the suspect, had a period of adolescence filled with posts on social media depicting the excitement and challenges of love, including photobooth prints captioned, “Frozen Date.” Despite his striking appearance with blonde hair and piercings, he also worked diligently, even sweating at construction sites in Chiba. Some of his posts from that time included lines like:
“Sometimes falling in love can be painful. Taking action can lead to failure. Believing can result in betrayal. Pursuing dreams can lead to setbacks. Living means enduring hardship. But it’s because there are challenges that people become stronger!”
On the other hand, his younger brother, Ryowa, had numerous playful posts during his middle school years on social media, including videos of him dancing shirtless in the school. However, his posts also hinted at delinquent behavior, with comments like ‘School was tough during the sports festival’ and ‘We drank.’
“By the time they were over 20, the brothers’ delinquent activities had escalated. Another acquaintance reports, ‘I heard that they both overslept frequently, but they had a clear hierarchy and spoke firmly. I heard they worked diligently from Monday to Saturday. However, their delinquent nature hadn’t changed since childhood. Among their group, they would laugh and joke about things like ‘smoking marijuana makes everything better.’ It was well-known in the area that the brothers were involved in various criminal activities.”
What Was the ‘Illegal Drug Dispute’ That Triggered This Incident?
“Yusho was apparently troubled before the incident, claiming that ‘someone stole my marijuana.’ He called the president of the demolition company shortly before the incident and said, ‘I’m going to settle this soon.’ Then he called the victims to the scene. It seems that he hadn’t been drinking, and with their pride as delinquents, things might have suddenly taken a violent turn. Regardless, it’s unacceptable that they allowed the situation to escalate to such a horrifying extent.” (Quoted Source)”
Why did the assault escalate to an irreparable degree? The truth behind this incident is eagerly awaited.
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