‘Unidentified dead woman found in ’79 was Miura’s missing GF’

An unidentified woman who was found dead in a vacant field in Lake View Terrace in 1979 had been identified by the Los Angeles Police District as Kazuyoshi Miura’s missing girlfriend.

L.A.P.D. Detective Rick Jackson stated in his affidavit that it was only in 1984 when they were able to establish that the unidentified dead woman was Miura’s missing girlfriend, Chizuko Shiraishi.

Jackson’s affidavit was among the documents the Attorney General’s Office had submitted to oppose giving Miura bail.

Jackson said that Shiraishi was last seen on March 29, 1979, when she boarded PamAm flight 002 from Tokyo to Los Angeles. Shiraishi was never seen or heard from again.

On May 4, 1979, Jackson said, the body of a partially decomposed woman was discovered north of the intersection at 11700 block of Pierce St. in Lake View Terrace. The area is composed of vacant fields and small foothills, he said.

He related that Dr. Dean Wisely’s autopsy on the unidentified remains ascribed the death to be “undetermined.”

Despite this, Jackson said that foul play was suspected due to the remote location where the body was found and the absence of any personal effects nearby.

The detective said that in January 1984, the Japanese’s weekly magazine Bungei Shinjo broke the story that Miura was involved in a plot to murder his wife Kazumi.

Jackson said the release of the article prompted the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to become actively involved in the investigation, along with the Los Angeles Police Department.

After the release of the article, Jackson said a Mrs. Kyoko Baker contacted the Asian Task Force of the L.A.P.D. Mrs. Baker informed Lt. J. Sakoda that her sister Shiraishi had been missing since March 1979. Mrs. Baker stated that her sister had a relationship with Miura prior to her disappearance.

Jackson said Immigration records indicate that Miura departed Tokyo on March 27, 1979 for a trip to L.A. Miura returned to Japan on April 6, 1979, records show.

Jackson said that investigation by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police revealed that Miura made six separate withdrawals from Shiraishi’s bank account between May 19 to June 12, 1979.

Shiraishi’s account was at the Mitsubishi Bank, Tokyo Shibuya Branch. The grand total in dollars was approximately $20,000, Jackson said. He said the withdrawals were accomplished with the use of a Bank Versateller card.

Jackson said that on March 27, 1984, L.A.P.D. received dental X-rays of Shiraishi from the National Japanese Police Agency. He said the X-rays were examined by Dr. Vale of the Los Angeles Country Coroner’s Office.

Jackson said it was Dr. Vale’s opinion that the skeletal remains found on May 4, 1979, were in fact the remains of Shiraishi.

Jackson said a manager of a condo unit in Minato-Ku-Tokyo told Tokyo police that on June 16, 1978, he met Miura and Shiraishi for the completion of a rental agreement for a condo unit, No. 513.

When the manager noticed that Shiraishi was no longer there, he asked Miura regarding her whereabouts. Miura told the manager that Shiraishi’s parents have been taken ill and she had left to take care for them.

After a few days, the manager observed Miura dumping several paper trash bags into a dumpster. The manager inspected the bags and found them containing women’s clothing and cosmetics.

A few days after, the manager saw Kazumi at the condo so he asked her where was she going. Kazumi stated she was going to Unit No. 513.

Miura moved out of the condo on July 8, 1979 and told the manager he was getting married and that the condo was too small.

The manager never saw Shiraishi again, Jackson said.

Miura then married Kazumi who, on Nov. 18, 1981, was shot in the head at a parking lot in L.A. She never regained consciousness and died on Nov. 30, 1982 in Japan.

L.A. detectives then found out that Miura, as Kazumi’s insurance beneficiary, collected a total of 162,046,955 yen ($700,000) after her death.

Miura, 60, was arrested by Saipan authorities at the Saipan International Airport on Feb. 22 in connection with the 1981 murder of Kazumi.

Miura had already been convicted in Japan in 1994 of the crime. The verdict, however, was overturned by Japan’s high court 10 years ago.