A Japanese man who was imprisoned in Hawaii over two murders committed in 1994 was found dead in his cell on Monday, local media reported.
Raita Fukusaku, 59, was found bleeding on the floor of his cell with trauma to the head and neck at the Halawa Correctional Facility in Honolulu, a Hawaii-based TV station said.
Honolulu police said that Fukusaku was assaulted and stabbed by his 38-year-old cellmate and that the weapon was found nearby, according to the report.
The male cellmate was immediately removed and placed in a holding unit, with the investigation still underway. The Honolulu medical examiner’s office has not released a cause of death, KHON-TV said.
Fukusaku was convicted of fatally shooting Kototome Fujita, a Japanese psychic, in her penthouse and her son Goro Fujita in his car in a Waikiki hotel parking lot in 1994. The penthouse and car were also set on fire.
The inmate, who was serving a prison sentence for two counts of second-degree murder, garnered attention as the first Japanese national to be extradited to the United States based on a bilateral extradition treaty.
Myles Breiner, Fukusaku’s former lawyer, told KHON-TV that his client never had any problems in the 30 years that he’s been in prison.
“He wasn’t gang-related, he seemed to rise above all that. He got along with all the staff,” Breiner said. “I’m not satisfied with the fact that this occurred. This should not have occurred.”
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