The Alice Murders[]
The murders follow Alice, who to date is one of the strangest unsolved serial murders in Japan. From 1999-2005, five murders took place. The five deaths could have been totally different if it weren't for the "calling card" the killer left at each crime scene. He would leave a playing card (which ranged from killing to death) at each scene, in an obvious place, that had "Alice" written on it in the victim's blood. Very few clues were found at each crime scene, and eventually, the case went cold. Below are the details of each murder.
Megumi Sasaki[]
The first victim was Megumi Sasaki, 29, a restaurant owner.
Those who knew her describe her as a headstrong woman, with a short temper and a sharp tongue when it comes to her employees. She was known to her clients for her excellent cooking and her dedication to her job; Outside of her work, Megumi was very social, and often went to parties. It was after a match that she disappeared.
She decided to walk to her house from her friend's, since she was only a block away; it was too little for her but she was too drunk to drive. Several people offered to drive her home, but she shrugged. She was seen leaving the party at one in the morning, and this is the last time she was spotted alive. The next morning, a couple walking in the forest about a kilometer from Megumi's house, saw a large amount of blood on an unused, overgrown path. Curious, they followed him to where he found Megumi's body. She had been ripped apart and parts of her impaled on various tree branches.
The couple called the police, and it was they who found the game card stuck in Megumi's mouth. It was an Ace of Spades, which had the word "Alice" written on it, as mentioned above. There were no fingerprints or any DNA sample that could be found. There was vomit at the scene, but the female of the couple admitted it was hers.
Yamane Akio[]
Yamane Akio was a little known singer in a band who never sang anywhere other than various bars and functions in his community.
His friends describe him as a kind-hearted man who never raised his voice off stage. After his death, his band disintegrated because they did not have the heart to find a new singer. Akio was abducted from his apartment on February 11, 2001. His companions were the last people to see him alive since he had practiced with them earlier in the day; That night, his girlfriend came to visit him and was surprised to find the house empty. Within days, a disappearance complaint was filed, and they began to search for him.
In the home security video, a hooded figure could be seen entering the side door and exiting with a large garbage bag that was oddly protruding. This strange appearance could not be demonstrated, and no one could see the strange man in person. Everyone thinks this man is the murderer, but his face is never shown and there seems to be a bit of a doubt. The following week, the owner of the bar "Yoshida" (where the band played often) which would be the place to start working, found a horrible sight: sunk in a table was Akio's body. His vocal cords had been ripped from his throat, and he had been shot in the head. His card was a king of diamonds with the word "Alice" in English and it was found clutched in his hands, along with his destroyed vocal cords.
Kai Sakura[]
A young teenage girl, Kai Sakura had her whole life ahead of her.
She was a sweet girl and very loved by her companions and relatives. She wanted to go to college to be a fashion designer, and she was within a week of graduating from high school when she was kidnapped. Sakura's family was frantic trying to find her and the whole city was talking about the lost girl. Her body was found two days later, buried in a shallow grave. It didn't seem like the killer wanted to hide her - on the contrary, she had marked her grave with her playing card "Alice", the queen of clubs. She had been glued to a stick and was glued to the top of the grave.
Sakura's body had been horribly mutilated. Her eyes had been carved into her body, her skin was flayed, and her mouth had been carved open. A crown had been sewn onto her head, probably when she was still alive. There are no sex crimes committed, either pre or post-mortem. Along with Sakura's body was a messy handwritten note. It contained many disjointed sentences, some of which were illegible. "Death is a distorted dream", "she will always rule" and "ha! Ha! Those who die are the lucky ones" were several sentences that had been written, among others. A match for writing was never found.
Hayato and Hina Oshiro[]
These two were the last of the murders, and the least gruesome. Hayato and Hina were close siblings, quite alike.
Hina was the older sister and she was very stubborn. Her younger brother Hayato was very smart and had skipped a grade, which made her in the same class as his beloved sister. The two rarely fought, as most of the brothers cared for.
They were found dead in their beds on April 4, 2005. The cause of death was a lethal injection. The children's bedroom window was open, and it was deduced that the killer silently sneaked in, killed the two without waking them, and then sneaked back. Each child had an Ace of Hearts playing card which, when put together, spelled out the word "Alice." A heavily stained footprint was found on his carpet, but a closer inspection was made impossible by the serious damage done to the print. This was the only piece of evidence, other than the playing card, left at the scene. A year later, Hina and Hayato's mother committed suicide out of pain. Her father, who is still alive to this day, is undergoing intensive therapy to overcome the death of his entire family. Right now, he is very depressed and extremely medicated.
Consequences[]
Shortly after the Oshiro brothers' deaths, a man named Suzuki Yuuto was arrested for the murders. He was a mentally challenged homeless man who claimed to "not remember" where he was at the time of any of the murders. Worst of all, he was seen wearing a coat that had belonged to Akio Yamane. Some blood on the sleeve tested positive to be hers. Yuuto, who was delirious at this point, claimed that "a faceless black demon man" had given him the coat.
Yuuto was released when a homeless shelter five miles from Kai's home claimed to have Yuuto on file with him on the night of Sakura's murder. Since there was no way to get to where she was abducted and return without being noticed, Yuuto was released. On April 30, 2008, a producer known as Yugami-P uploaded his first song to nicovideo, called Hitobashira Arisu (roughly translated as Alice's Human Sacrifices). The song is believed to be based off of the Alice murders. He tells the story of a little dream that draws people into his world, and then goes on to tell the story of each of the "Alice". The song has a few parallels to each murder:
- The first Alice (MEIKO's voice) was trapped in the forest, which is where Megumi's body was found.
- The second Alice (voiced by KAITO) was a singer who was "killed by a madman."
- The third Alice (voiced by Hatsune Miku) was beloved, became queen of the country and took over a "distorted dream".
- The last Alice (voiced by Kagamine Rin / Len) was a pair of twins considered to be a complete "Alice". They are described as a "tenacious" older sister and a "smart" younger brother. She also talks about how they have "yet to wake up", a possible reference to them dying in their sleep.
Also, the suits of the cards that they have found with each body are also mentioned. Yugami-P has not stated for sure if this song has anything to do with Alice's murders, but it is widely assumed about this fact.
Lyrics[]
Once upon a time there was a little dream, and no one knew who had dreamed it. It was a small dream. For this reason, he thought— I don't want to disappear, how can I make people dream of me? The dream was of little importance, and at last he had an idea: - I am going to make people come to me And they are going to make my world!
The first Alice was a violent woman with short brown hair and a red dress. She lived in the forest. She did it by wielding a sword in her hand, destroying everything in her path.
She would destroy, murdering everything she could. She soon she fell into the world of dreams. This one was plunged into her madness, making her lose her sanity and leaving our little dream unsatisfied. No one would have known of her existence, if it weren't for the path of blood that she would walk in the forest.
The second Alice was a man with blue hair.
He was very loved in his town, he had an excellent singing voice. Everyone (or almost everyone) loved his voice, and the little dream he wanted. But he was very loved, unlike the first Alicia, so he will not be that easy to get.
He was fine, he didn't kill or hurt anyone. The little dream gave up trying to get him into his world; the man was singing for a vacation in the city, and a madman came up and shot him in the head. The little dream then rushed in and took the man's soul before he died, yet he went mad the second before he died and was quickly forgotten.
The third Alice was a girl with long hair and a teal dress.
She was the queen of the country. The little dream really wanted the queen - she would seduce several people. A strange and distorted country had been created, and the queen was frozen in fear to death.
She was possessed by a distorted, crazy dream. She was too crazy to rule the country, people thought. Her queen had been overthrown. She was losing her sanity more and more. How could she not be the queen !? She thought furiously. She spiraled away from her sanity and her reality; soon, she had died, and she fell victim to the little dream.
The fourth Alice was a pair of twins.
A stubborn sister and a smart brother, having a tea party under rose bushes in what was the "Forest of Little Dreams", was the reason they were right on the way to the castle.
Their invitation was an Ace of Heart card, and when they reached the queen she welcomed them and ushered them inside. Once inside, she killed them and took the girl's body. They were forever trapped in the dream; the dream of little wonderland.