Murder of Yoshie Sato

Template:Use dmy datesTemplate:Short description Template:Template other On 3 January, 2006, 56-year-old Yoshie Sato (Template:Langx) was murdered by 21-year-old William Oliver Reese in Yokosuka, Japan. Reese was a United States Navy sailor stationed on the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) at the time and confessed to the crime. Reese is currently serving life in prison in Japan. The killing led to public calls for a revision of the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement, which had previously occurred following other incidents of killing and rape by U.S. military personnel.

Background

Yoshie Sato was a native of Yokosuka. Following a divorce and the death of her parents, she entered a common-law relationship and bought an apartment together with her fiancé. At the time of her death, Sato had been on her way to work.

William Oliver Reese was born in Pittsgrove, New Jersey, United States, to an African-American family. He had been stationed in Japan since 2004.

Murder

On 3 January 2006, William Oliver Reese was near the Yokosuka-Chūō train station when he accosted 56-year-old Yoshie Sato, demanding money. Reese was intoxicated at the time. At first, he asked her for directions to the nearby naval base, and after she pointed it out to him, he attempted to take her purse. When Sato began yelling for help, Reese dragged her to a nearby stairwell and beat her for 11 minutes. Sato later died of a ruptured kidney. The initial robbery attempt was recorded on surveillance footage.

He then removed 15,000 yen from her purse and left the scene. Some accounts claim that Reese was apprehended by US Navy sentries at the main gate to Yokosuka Naval Base, who became suspicious when they noticed Reese's bloodstained clothes. Other accounts state that he was caught aboard the Kitty Hawk as he attempted to return to work. Reese claimed that he had no idea why he killed her.

International repercussions

When Reese was indicted and convicted on 3 June 2006, after making a full confession. While judges called the murder "shocking" and "dreadful," they cited Reese's confession, among other factors, as their justification for sparing him from a possible death sentence. Severe liberty restrictions were also enacted by the U.S. Navy upon its sailors stationed in the region. The restrictions applied to all sailors and included such measures as curfews and detailed "liberty plans," written statements of a sailor's exact whereabouts throughout the day.

Sato's murder was considered the most severe of a number of highly-publicised violent crimes committed by U.S. servicemen, which included a hit-and-run that injured three elementary school students in Hachioji by another USS Kitty Hawk sailor, as well as an assault on a taxi driver in Yokohama by a drunk U.S. Navy petty officer.

Sato's husband, Masanori Yamazaki, criticised U.S. officials for framing the murder as "a chance to make the Japan-U.S. alliance even stronger". As Reese was unable to pay the associated fine, the American government offered to pay 40% of the originally agreed sum to Yamazaki, which he refused on account of the settlement including a clause absolving the United States and Reese of further liability. In 2017, Yamazaki agreed to sign the document if the demand for immunity was dropped. As of 2020, no updates had been made regarding the settlement.

See also

• 1995 Okinawa rape incident, gang rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three U.S. servicemen
• Girard incident, killing of a Japanese civilian by a U.S. Army soldier
• Killing of Michael Ovsjannikov, death of German civilian by a U.S airman
• Murder of Yun Geum-i, murder of a South Korean civilian by a U.S. serviceman in Korea
• Killing of Jennifer Laude, death of a Filipina civilian by a U.S. Marine