The body of Jun Hase, an 11-year-old boy in Kobe, is found in this wooded, hilly area near where he lived. His severed head was found by the main gate of a junior high school. His parents had reported him missing to the police three days earlier.

Police search for clues in front of the junior high school where the severed head of Jun Hase was found. A note placed near the head included kanji that could be read as the name "Seito Sakakibara." The note taunted police, saying in part, "Catch me if you can."

Parents accompany their children to an elementary school in Kobe as police continue their investigation of the murders of two children and an assault on a third child. Fears of a killer targeting young children put Kobe neighborhoods on edge, especially after a local newspaper received a note threatening more attacks.

Reporters converge on a junior high school in Kobe attended by the 14-year-old student who was arrested on June 28, 1997, on suspicion of murdering Jun Hase and abandoning his body. The news sent shock waves throughout Japan and touched off a debate over the Juvenile Law. At the time, children under 16 could not be tried as adults for the crimes attributed to the 14-year-old. The law also forbid identifying the suspect because he was a minor.