21-year-old Mikiko Kasahara was found murdered inside her apartment in Seguin, Texas on the morning of December 14th, 2002.
It was shortly before 9:30 AM when police were alerted about a structure fire inside one of the units in an apartment building at 964 San Antonio Street. After first responders extinguished the flames, they found Mikiko's lifeless body. Police determined that she had been killed by homicidal violence before her apartment was set on fire.
Mikiko is originally from Japan. At the time of her death, she was in an exchange student program at Texas Lutheran University. In December 2002, Mikiko had a lot to celebrate. She had just finished her first semester at the university with excellent grades and was recognized by the Dean's List.
On the evening of December 13, 2002, Mikiko hosted a gathering at her apartment to celebrate the end of the semester. The party was attended by several guests, most of whom were fellow Japanese exchange students. The celebration reportedly continued until around 5:00 AM. Sometime between 6:00 and 9:23 AM is when investigators believe the tragedy struck—Mikiko was murdered, and both her body and apartment were set ablaze.
Mikiko's autopsy report revealed that, despite attending a party just hours before her death, she had no drugs or alcohol in her system. The injuries on her body indicated she had endured a violent death, with the report stating that Mikiko "died as a result of homicidal violence including but not limited to strangulation."
In the early stages of the investigation, detectives had numerous individuals to question, as several people had been at Mikiko's residence shortly before she was found dead. They conducted multiple interviews; however, no suspects were identified. Just a month after the murder, reports indicated that "law enforcement hadn't determined the motive for killing Mikiko and that there were no suspects in the case."
Now, over two decades later, Mikiko's tragic death remains unsolved, and detectives seem no closer to cracking the case. Very few details about the investigation have been disclosed to the public. On the tenth anniversary of her murder, investigators stated, "We feel very confident that it wasn’t somebody from Japan, but it was somebody that knew her, had some connection to her." Beyond this, no additional information regarding a possible suspect has emerged.
Mikiko's murder remains unsolved today. There is a monetary reward available for anyone with information that could lead the arrest/conviction of Mikiko's killer(s). If you have any information that could help the investigation, please contact the Texas Rangers at 1-800-346-3243 or submit a tip online.
-
Sources:
Sources:
No comments:
Post a Comment