The Supreme Court on Monday reversed a lower court ruling in a civil suit filed over the 1985 murder of a 15-year-old girl in Soka, Saitama Prefecture, saying it doubted the credibility of the confessions made by the boys accused of killing her. Six men were found guilty of committing the murder by a juvenile, or family, court, which handled the case because they were minors at the time of the crime. In the civil suit, the parents of the victim were seeking compensation from the parents of three of the men. But the top court's decision, which sends the civil suit back to the Tokyo High Court, now raises serious doubts over their juvenile court conviction. The key point in the case was whether the boys' confession could be considered credible when there is almost no concrete evidence linking them to the slaying. In Monday's ruling, Judge Takao Ode said there was no hard evidence to back the boys' confession, adding that part of the admissions may have been falsely made up by investigators during interrogation since it contradicts evidence found at the crime scene. "The boys' confession does not contain any facts that only the perpetrator would have known, and no concrete evidence was found in the case," Ode said. The top court, however, also noted their statement had a tinge of reality and their alibis are suspicious, concluding the case should be sent back to the high court for further examination. The five Supreme Court judges agreed on the decision, but Judge Kazutomo Ijima added that the court in civil suit proceedings should respect the decision reached in criminal proceedings, which in this case is the family court ruling, unless a new suspect emerges or the defendants' alibi is proved to be true. After the Supreme Court ruling, lawyers for the defendants said they were pleased that the top court effectively supported their claim, but at the same time criticized the court for not handing down a decision on its own to end the proceedings. Hiroshi Shimizu, head of the defense team, severely criticized investigation authorities for extracting a confession from the boys despite evidence that they could not have committed the murder. "Unless the court stops relying heavily on confessions in criminal cases, there will be no end to false admissions," he said. "I had hoped we could put an end to our bitter days today, and I wonder how much longer we have to cope with this," said one of the six boys, who is now 28. "I want to return to a peaceful life like everyone else." The entire proceedings -- both civil and juvenile -- have been dragging on for 15 years since the murder. Meanwhile, a lawyer for the victim's parents expressed disappointment and said he is sorry for the girl and her family. The 15-year-old junior high school girl was found raped and murdered in Soka on July 19, 1985, and the six accused, who were aged between 13 and 15 at the time, were later arrested. They initially confessed during police interrogations but later pleaded not guilty before the Urawa Family Court. In September 1985, the family court found them guilty and sent five to a reformatory for minors over 14, while the sixth, who was then 13, was sent to a different juvenile institution. The boys later appealed to the Tokyo High Court, where their counsel submitted three pieces of evidence, including the fact that hair and body fluid found on the girl's body and clothes did not match the boys' blood types. The boys had either type-O or type-B blood. Prosecutors argued that the AB-type saliva found on the girl's body was created when the B-type saliva of one of the boys mixed with the A-type cells of the girl. After an expert witness confirmed the saliva was a pure AB-type, prosecutors said it was left on the victim on separate occasions prior to her murder. Despite these questions raised by the defense, the high court, and later the Supreme Court, accepted the prosecution's explanation and dismissed the appeal, ruling the confession was reliable. The Juvenile Law does not stipulate retrial procedures. In January 1989, the parents of the victim filed a civil suit against the parents of three of the accused, demanding 55 million yen in compensation. The civil case effectively became a retrial for the boys, with the defense team claiming their clients were innocent and not obliged to pay damages. In 1993, the Urawa District Court, which looked closely at the evidence, rejected the girl's parents' claim and said the boys' confession contradicted objective facts and was not reliable. The district court went on to say there were suspicions that Saitama Prefectural Police tried to hide evidence that would have been advantageous to the boys during their juvenile trials. But the Tokyo High Court in 1994 reversed the district court decision, stating that the confession was reliable as it was made shortly after the investigation began and did not contradict the evidence. The high court said the statement made by the boys during interrogations contained facts that only those involved in the murder could have known about. Prior to Monday's decision, the Supreme Court in December held an oral proceeding in the case, which is considered rare because the top court usually hands down a decision only based on examining documents passed on from lower court proceedings.
