In 2018, the case of a man killing his wife and burying her body shocked public opinion in Japan due to the cruelty and deviousness of a ruthless mother-in-law and a submissive husband.
Mysterious Disappearance
Everything began on March 6, 2018, when a man named Takahito Yatani (36 years old) went to the police station in Kashiwa City (Chiba, Japan) to report his wife’s disappearance and request assistance.
His wife was 30-year-old Maiko Yatani. According to Takahito’s statement, two days prior, he and his wife had an argument while sitting in their car, leading to a heated quarrel. Angered at her husband, Maiko got out of the car and left. She did not return home for the entire day.
Thinking that his wife had just stormed off somewhere in anger, Takahito was not initially too concerned. However, he stated that when night fell and Maiko still had not returned, he began searching for her everywhere but to no avail.
After receiving the report, the police immediately formed a search team to locate Maiko. Takahito, along with his relatives and friends, also joined the authorities in the search effort.
Despite their efforts, no leads were found. Maiko seemed to have vanished into thin air.
The Deceitful Husband
Months passed without any results, and the disappearance case seemed to have reached a dead end. By this time, the police had obtained footage from all the surveillance cameras around the supermarkets in Abiko City, where Takahito claimed the argument had occurred and Maiko had angrily gotten out of the car before disappearing. However, they found no evidence of Takahito’s car appearing, let alone any footage of Maiko.
Unable to find a clear reason for Maiko’s disappearance, coupled with Takahito’s contradictory statements, the police concluded that this man had likely lied to conceal something.
Sensing suspicious signs, the police quickly summoned Takahito for questioning. Initially, the man stuck to his story. However, when the police presented evidence, Takahito began to show signs of fear. After intense interrogation, the man finally confessed and revealed everything he had done.
There was no incident of Maiko angrily leaving; she had been killed by her own husband. He then buried her body in the backyard garden of his mother Emi’s (63 years old) house in Toride City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
On July 18, 2018, based on Takahito’s confession and guidance, the police excavated the backyard and found a decomposing body. Forensic investigators confirmed the victim was Maiko.
Emi was also quickly taken into custody for investigation. This woman knew everything her son had done but deliberately concealed it, even assisting in his criminal act.
From here, the secrets within the relationship between the victim, her husband, and her mother-in-law began to unfold.
The dead body was found behind the house
On July 18, 2018, based on the testimony and guidance of Takahito Yatani, the police excavated and discovered a decomposed body behind the house of Emi – Takahito Yatani’s mother in Toride City, Ibaraki province. The forensic examination confirmed that the victim was Takahito’s missing wife, Maiko Yatani. Along with this, Emi (67 years old) was quickly detained for investigation.
After being arrested, Takahito confessed to the police that on March 4, 2018, he and his wife had a fierce argument at their home in Kashiwa, Chiba. When the dispute reached its peak, Takahito lost control and strangled his wife until she stopped moving. Knowing that his wife was dead, he thought of a way to dispose of her body and decided to take it to his mother’s house.
Regarding the motive for killing his wife, Takahito said: “Our marriage was not good, and accumulated anger made me strangle her to death.”
Meanwhile, working with the police, Emi admitted to knowing everything her son had done and intentionally helped cover up the crime of killing his wife but insisted there was no prior conspiracy to kill her daughter-in-law.
When questioned by the police, Emi expressed regret: “I just wanted to protect my son. He begged me, and I promised him. I thought it would be very difficult for him to bury his wife himself, so I decided to do it for him.”
However, after the investigation, the police discovered that the truth was not as Takahito and his mother had claimed. From here, the secrets of the relationship between the victim and her husband and mother-in-law were revealed.
Unhappy marriage
Takahito was a bank employee. He and Maiko Yatani met at work and got married in 2012. Initially, their married life was very happy, but not long after, Maiko began to realize the problems in her husband’s family that she had not known before.
Emi was a very strict mother. Since Maiko married Takahito, her life has been uncomfortable even though the couple moved out. Emi always wanted to control everything in her son’s family, being harsh with her daughter-in-law. Meanwhile, Takahito always obeyed his mother’s arrangements.
In 2016, Maiko gave birth to a child and decided to quit her job to stay at home to take care of the family. But from then on, her life became more and more suffocating.
Before the incident occurred, Emi advised her son to leave his wife, but after a discussion, they both agreed that if they could make Maiko disappear, all the problems would be resolved satisfactorily.
On March 2, 2018, Takahito and Emi dug a hole behind the house. On March 4, Takahito strangled and killed Maiko, then took her to his mother’s house and buried her. After that, he pretended to go to the police station to report his wife missing to mislead the investigation.
For their actions, Takahito and Emi faced charges of murder.
