[sumo] Tokitsukaze Developments

[Jack Gartin]

A progress report, sort of, on the death of Takashi Saito.

Tamagoyama

Investigators closer to arrest in death of novice wrestler

01/03/2008
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Police building a criminal case against a former sumo stablemaster for his
alleged involvement in the beating death last June of a novice wrestler have
documented a likely history of excessive violence against the victim.

Sources said the Aichi prefectural police had gathered scientific evidence
that suggests Takashi Saito, then 17, was subjected to an extensive beating
by members of the Tokitsukaze sumo stable.

The stable master at the time, whose real name is Junichi Yamamoto, is said
to have whacked Saito across the forehead with a beer bottle on June 25.
This was followed by a gang beating by other stable members.

Police are seeking to build a case against the former Tokitsukaze
stablemaster and stable members on suspicion of bodily injury resulting in
death, sources said.

Tests by specialists at Nagoya University found fatal levels of potassium in
Saito's blood.

Potassium is often found in muscle. But it can be released in higher
quantities into the blood when the body is struck, resulting in bruising or
worse.

If the level of potassium in the blood becomes too high, it can lead to
cardiac arrest.

Police investigators believe that Saito was beaten over a long period before
he died because it takes time for fatal levels of potassium to accumulate in
the bloodstream.

Saito collapsed on June 26 after sumo practice and was taken to a hospital
where a blood sample was taken.

The serum potassium value at that time was 7.3. A healthy individual has a
value of between 3.5 and 5.

When the serum potassium value exceeds 7, there is the possibility of
irregular heartbeat or cardiac arrest.

Higher than normal levels of the enzyme creatine kinase were also detected.
The enzyme appears in the blood when muscle has been destroyed.

The various tests pointed to Saito having suffered from hyperkalemia, an
elevated blood level of the potassium electrolyte.

According to experts of external injury, hyperkalemia is often found in
individuals who, for example, fall from buildings, but suffer little in the
way of blood loss.

Repeated beatings could also lead to hyperkalemia, sources said.

Under prior police questioning, the former Tokitsukaze stablemaster and
other stable members admitted to ganging up on Saito on June 25, but said
there was nothing unusual about the training session on June 26.

When Saito was taken to hospital, he was found to be suffering from
extensive internal bleeding. It apparently had occurred at least 12 hours
earlier.

The serum potassium values recorded indicate that the beating on June 25 was
so extensive that it could have led to Saito's death.

An autopsy showed there was a high possibility that external injuries
suffered by Saito on June 26 also contributed to his death.

Based on their questioning, police investigators also suspect that the sumo
training of June 26 went beyond normal levels in its violence, the sources
said.

Last July, tests were conducted by specialists at Niigata University, but
they were unable to determine if the bruises from the beatings of June 25 or
26 were directly linked to Saito's death.(IHT/Asahi: January 3,2008)