{{Short description|Japanese model}} {{Infobox model | name = Kakeru Takamine (高峯 駆) | image = | caption = | birth_name = Azumi Mutō<br>(武藤亜澄) | birth_date = {{birth date|1986|06|13}} | birth_place = Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan | death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2006|12|30|1986|06|13}} | death_place = | spouse = | height = {{convert|1.57|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} | eye_color = | hair_color = | alias = }}

{{nihongo|'''Azumi Muto'''|武藤 亜澄|''Mutō Azumi''|extra=June 13, 1986 – December 30, 2006}} was a Japanese pin-up model and aspiring actress for an agency in Tokyo, Japan. She was murdered by her 21-year-old brother {{Nihongo|'''Yuki Muto'''|武藤 勇貴|''Mutō Yūki''}} (born 1985) on December 30, 2006. Her death aroused the tabloids' notice for the circumstances surrounding the crime.

== Life and career == Muto's father and mother were both dentists and she was brought up in a relatively affluent environment, but she was rebellious against her parents and ran away from her home between December 2004 and May 2005. Her stage name, which she had chosen herself, was {{nihongo|'''Kakeru Takamine'''|高峯 駆|''Takamine Kakeru''}}. She filled the role of a supporting actor on an incest-themed V-Cinema adaptation of ''Cream Lemon''. Her role was a woman who wore a blue commando uniform. After her death, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office denied Yuki's incestuous interest in Azumi,<ref name="livedoor">{{cite web|url=http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/3016337/|script-title=ja:短大生バラバラ殺人 地検が「一部週刊誌はウソ」|language=Japanese|work=J-Cast|publisher=Livedoor|date=February 6, 2007|accessdate=February 27, 2008| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080403220802/http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/3016337/| archivedate= 3 April 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> which some tabloids had suspected.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/archive/news/2007/01/20070112p2g00m0dm025000c.html|title=Well-to-do family shattered by brutal murder of would-be starlet by psychotic sibling|publisher=Mainichi Shimbun|date=January 12, 2007|accessdate=May 13, 2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071231202733/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/archive/news/2007/01/20070112p2g00m0dm025000c.html|archivedate=December 31, 2007 }}</ref>

She also made her stage debut in 2006. Her final performance, as that of a nurse, took place on December 10, 2006. She apparently had told her friends that there were problems in the family regarding her brother's mental state a few days before the murder took place.

== Death == On December 30, 2006, in Tokyo, Yuki beat her with a wooden sword, and strangled her with a towel. She was finally drowned in a bath.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070801a8.html|title=Man admits drowning, dismembering sister|publisher=The Japan Times|date=August 1, 2007|accessdate=March 11, 2008}}</ref> He dismembered her body with a saw and a large knife.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2007/01/06/news/students-sister-died-violent-death/|title=Student's Sister Died Violent Death|publisher=The Japan Times|date=January 6, 2007|accessdate=November 15, 2013}}</ref> He was arrested on January 4, 2007. He hid the body parts in various places in his room in Hatagaya of Shibuya. Yuki sliced off his sister's breasts and genitals after he killed her. He put them through the garbage disposal in the sink. He said that it was in order to hide her gender after the police found the body. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office said that Yuki was not a necrophile nor a cannibal.<ref name="livedoor"/>

Yuki was bothered by his younger sister Azumi teasing him about being a failure and telling him that he had "no ambition" in life. It was apparently the talk of him having no ambition that prompted him to murder his sister. Yuki had failed repeatedly to pass college entrance exams. Prosecutors claim this pressure contributed to his psychotic stress. Later, the police were criticized for abandonment of his weapons.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070210a3.html|title=Tokyo police admit losing evidence in murder case|publisher=The Japan Times|date=February 10, 2007|accessdate=February 27, 2008}}</ref>

On May 12, 2008, prosecutors requested 17 years imprisonment for Yuki, whereas his psychiatrist claimed that he had diminished responsibility or was criminally insane.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080512p2a00m0na028000c.html |title=17 years jail sought for rich dentist's son accused of murdering, mutilating sister |publisher=Mainichi Shimbun |date=May 12, 2008 |accessdate=May 13, 2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513033847/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080512p2a00m0na028000c.html |archivedate=13 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On May 27, 2008, the Tokyo District Court sentenced him to 7 years imprisonment, saying that he was criminally insane when he dismembered her body.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080527p2a00m0na016000c.html |title=Ex-student convicted of killing sister gets 7 years behind bars |publisher=Mainichi Shimbun |date=May 27, 2008 |accessdate=May 27, 2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528162813/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080527p2a00m0na016000c.html |archivedate=May 28, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> On April 28, 2009, however, the Tokyo High Court revoked his original sentence, sentencing him to 12 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200904290057.html |title=Man gets 12 years for killing sister |publisher=Asahi Shimbun |date=April 29, 2009 |accessdate=October 26, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502102935/http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200904290057.html |archivedate=May 2, 2009 }}</ref>

== Film == *[https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B000KCI8UW くりいむレモン プールサイドの亜美], AMG entertainment, October 27, 2006

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name|3349323|Azumi Muto}} *[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070106a2.html Student's sister died violent death] ''The Japan Times'', January 6, 2007 *[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070108a5.html Slaying suspect cites exam pressure] ''The Japan Times'', January 8, 2007 *[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070801a8.html Man admits drowning, dismembering sister] ''The Japan Times'', August 1, 2007 *[https://web.archive.org/web/20071231202733/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/archive/news/2007/01/20070112p2g00m0dm025000c.html Well-to-do family shattered by brutal murder of would-be starlet by psychotic sibling] ''Mainichi Shimbun'', January 12, 2007 ''(archived)''

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Muto, Azumi}} Category:1986 births Category:2006 deaths Category:Deaths by drowning in Japan Category:Japanese actresses Category:Japanese murder victims Category:People murdered in Tokyo Category:Models from Tokyo Category:Sororicides Category:Violence against women in Japan