It is difficult to fathom that a religious group might be behind a poison gas attack on hundreds of civilians. More likely, logic suggests, it would either be the result of a terrible accident or the work of a deranged individual. When confronted with such a scenario in Matsumoto in 1994, the Nagano Police Department went with the lone-wolf theory.

Their chief suspect was Yoshiyuki Kono, a machinery salesman who lived in a sprawling wooden house next to the site where members of Aum Shinrikyo decided to park the customized vehicle carrying the deadly nerve agent.

Kono was the first to contact emergency services after his wife fell unconscious, with records showing that he called at 11:09 p.m. on June 27, 1994. The next 119 call from another victim didn't come until 29 minutes later.