A human organ sample submitted to a court by a medical examiner who claims to have performed an autopsy on a man found dead in his car in 1997 in fact belonged to a woman, it was learned Saturday.
The latest finding by a laboratory at Tsukuba University sheds new light on the long-disputed mystery surrounding the death of Mikio Kubo in July 1997.
Kubo's family is suing the Kanagawa Prefectural Police for negligence that resulted in his death, and is charging that the medical examiner compiled a false report without performing an autopsy.
"We are really surprised to hear that the organ sample belongs to a woman. We hope this new information will uncover the truth," said one of the family members.