Former Attack on Titan manga editor jailed for wife's murder

Park Jung-Hyun, a former manga editor for Attack on Titan, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for the murder of his wife. The Tokyo High Court found Park guilty of strangling his wife, Kanako, at their home in Bunkyo City, Japan, on August 9, 2016. Initially arrested in 2017, Park had claimed Kanako “committed suicide.” However, the court concluded he murdered her, describing his testimony as “unrealistic.”

Kanako was found face-up at the bottom of a staircase and was pronounced dead an hour later at a hospital. Park initially stated his wife “fell down the stairs,” but changed his story after an autopsy revealed she died from suffocation due to neck pressure. He later claimed Kanako hanged herself using his jacket on the staircase railing, attributing his narrative change to reluctance in telling “his children that [their mother] committed suicide.”

In court, Park's explanations were scrutinized, particularly his claim that Kanako had been violent before her death. He alleged that bloodstains in the bedroom resulted from holding her down, as she had a knife. Park also mentioned hearing a noise outside the room before discovering her supposed suicide. The prosecution argued Park had “strong intent” to kill Kanako, seeking a 15-year sentence.

On July 18 2024, the judge dismissed Park’s account, stating, “It is too sudden and unnatural that the wife lost consciousness and then moved around so much that she made a noise, and then committed suicide.” The court’s decision was based on the inconsistencies in Park’s statements and the evidence presented.