[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][excessive citations] Prior to his death, Uemura had apparently been refusing to commit crimes for a group of older boys with whom he spent time, and wanted to cut ties with them.
[24] The same morning, the partly burned remnants of Uemura’s clothing were found in a nearby park toilet, in what appeared to be an effort to destroy evidence.
“Some investigators suspect (the criminals) watched Internet videos showing the execution of hostages by Islamic State (IS) fighters and sought to mimic them,” the magazine said, quoting an unnamed source close to police.
In closed-door juvenile trial sessions at the court, the 18-year-old boy who is considered the ring leader admitted to killing Uemura, while the two others maintained their innocence, according to the sources.
In giving the so-called indeterminate sentence as stipulated under Juvenile Law, Presiding Judge Hiroko Kondo highlighted the cruelty of the way Ryota Uemura was assaulted and killed by Funahashi, who had previously been a part of the same peer group.
[28] Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe expressed his condolences to the victim's family and vowed that Japan should not have another similar tragedy.
[29][30][31][32] On March 5, 2015, after Uemura's mother released statements about her son's death,[33] the three boys previously arrested were charged with murder.