Japanese businessman Kazuyoshi Miura found dead in jail cell
Miura had just returned to the U.S. to face charges in the 1981 slaying of his wife. His death is an apparent suicide.
By Martha Groves, Richard Winton, and Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
12:52 PM PDT, October 11, 2008
A Japanese businessman accused of conspiring to have his wife murdered 27 years ago in Los Angeles hanged himself in his jail cell overnight, a few hours after he arrived in the United States to face charges, police said this morning.

Kazuyoshi Miura, 61, was found in his cell about 9:45 p.m. Friday by a jail officer during a routine inspection, Deputy Chief Charlie Beck of the Los Angeles Police Department said at a news conference at Parker Center, police headquarters.

"It was apparent that the murder suspect, alone in his cell, had used a piece of his shirt as a makeshift ligature around his neck," Beck said. Miura, who had been dressed in street clothes, was taken to County-USC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, he said.

Authorities immediately contacted the Japanese consulate general's office, which notified Miura's family in Japan.

Miura's case has long been a high-profile saga in Japan, where Miura was dubbed "the Japanese O.J. Simpson." His extradition had drawn journalists to Los Angeles from dozens of foreign media outlets, some from as far away as Bangkok, Tokyo and Saipan, the U.S. territory Miura had been visiting when he was taken into custody in February.

Mark Geragos, Miura's attorney, who spoke from New York, said he was notified of his client's death about 12:15 a.m. today by the district attorney's office. "None of this makes any sense," Geragos said.

He said a lawyer had visited with Miura earlier and that he was in good spirits, complaining only about a little back pain. "There was no indication that he was despondent or depressed," Geragos said. "There was no indication whatsoever of problems.

"He was ready and girded for the fight," Geragos said of his client.

Geragos said he will demand an independent investigation. But he said he was upset because he had still not "gotten a straight or cogent explanation about what happened."

According to California Minimum Jail Standards, cell inspections are required every 30 minutes. Based on preliminary information, authorities said that detention officers assigned to the portion of the jail housing Miura had conducted a required cell check and found nothing unusual. About 10 minutes later, an officer passing Miura's cell "saw what Miura had done," Beck said.

The officer immediately requested help, and along with two other officers rushed into the cell to administer CPR to Miura. Medical personnel from the jail dispensary assisted them.

Los Angeles Fire Department personnel responded to the Parker Center Jail to continue life-saving efforts and took Miura to the Los Angeles County USC Medical Center.

Beck said the department's Force Investigation Division would conduct a "thorough investigation," which will be reviewed by Chief William J. Bratton, the department's Inspector General and the Los Angeles Police Commission. The County Coroner's office will also investigate the cause of death.

"Irony of ironies, that after all this time he's finally back and now this," Bratton said this morning. "It's tragic in the sense that the opportunity to have him go before a court, well, that opportunity is not going to present itself. Whatever his reason for taking his own life, well, it leaves the whole matter unsettled."

Miura was accused of plotting the death of his wife, Kazumi Miura, 28, who was shot in the head while the couple was visiting downtown Los Angeles in November 1981. Miura was shot in the leg during the attack.

A judge issued a warrant for Miura's arrest in 1988, alleging murder and conspiracy, but detectives could not extradite him from Japan. Miura was convicted of murder in Japan in 1994 in connection with his wife's death, but the verdict was later overturned and he was acquitted.

In February, Miura wrote on his blog about plans to visit the U.S. territory of Saipan. He was arrested there on the 1988 warrant as he tried to return to Japan. Miura at first fought extradition, but last month he agreed to return to L.A. after a judge dismissed the murder charge as double jeopardy, given Miura's trial in Japan. A charge of conspiracy remained. On Thursday, county prosecutors filed for reinstatement of the murder charge, citing a 2004 change in state law that removed double jeopardy protection for those tried overseas. A hearing had been set for next Thursday.

Escorted by police, Miura arrived shortly before 5 a.m. Friday at Los Angeles International Airport and was taken to police headquarters, where he was booked. He was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.

Miura was greeted at police headquarters Friday by a throng of reporters, many working for Japanese news outlets that have followed the high-profile case for decades.

Japanese Consul General Masaru Dekiba, who was besieged by Japanese media outside Parker Center, said he was "astonished" that Miura had committed suicide. Dekiba said he had spoken Friday morning with the suspect, who seemed "very nice and healthy."