After more than a decade of investigation, the 2007 murder of Japanese female tourist Tomoko Kawashita in Thailand is now leading to a man in Japan.
The Japanese tourist was murdered while she was travelling in the northern Sukhothai province during Loy Krathong Festival. Local police were unable to solve the case before the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has taken over.
Key elements of the case are DNA samples found on the victim’s body and clothes. Nearly 400 DNA samples have been collected and compared with the victim’s genetic materials, but none of them match.
Dr. Worawee Waiyawut, director of the Central Forensic Science Institute’s Genetic Substances Division, said in a press conference on Thursday that new procedures using new chemical Yfiler Plus found more genetic material shedding light on the possible killer’s identity.
The new DNA traces pointed to Japanese or Korean person, not Thai, Dr Worawee said.
Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin said Japanese authorities would take the findings to continue investigation in Japan.
Tomoyuki Fujiyama, a Japanese representative attending the news conference, thanked Thailand for the efforts to solve the murder case. Japanese authorities would coordinate with their Thai counterparts in the next phase of investigation, he said.
DSI investigators have also sought DNA sample of a man in Japan for comparison with the genetic material extracted from the victim’s clothing. But the man’s identity has not been disclosed.
Kowashita’s parents have made several trips to Thailand and offered a reward in the hope of bringing the murderer to justice. (TNA)
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