Japanese Businessman Accused in Murder Kills Self

Kazuyoshi Miura is a 61-year-old Japanese businessman who was recently returned to the U.S. on charges that he murdered his wife. He was found hanging in his jail cell Friday evening.

"Miura apparently hanged himself sometime Friday night, said an officer at Parker Center police headquarters, where Miura was taken after arriving in the country early Friday.

Miura was arrested in the U.S. commonwealth of Saipan on Feb. 21 and has been in custody ever since. He was to remain in a city jail cell until his arraignment next week.

His wife, Kazumi Miura, was shot in the head near downtown L.A. in 1981, then moved to Japan where she died the next year. She was 28 when she died.

On Thursday, prosecutors with the District Attorney's Office filed papers, asking that a murder charge be reinstated against Miura.

"We fully support that request," police Capt. Denis Cremins said. "Detectives who have been involved in this investigation have no doubt that Mr. Miura is responsible for his wife's death."

Miura had been tried on that charge in Japan and acquitted. Because he was not found guilty of conspiracy, prosecutors were allowed to refile charges in his wife's murder.

In a statement released in May 1988 after the murder and conspiracy charges were filed in Los Angeles, prosecutors alleged Miura collected about $750,000 from life insurance policies on his wife.

Prosecutors also allege Miura "solicited five different people to murder his wife," including the person who actually shot her."

Source: CBS 2, Los Angeles, CA, USA