Disappearance
Rina Shimabukuro lived in Uruma City on Okinawa's main island. On the night of April 28, 2016, she told her boyfriend that she was going for a walk. When she failed to return, she was reported missing.
The search lasted for weeks. On May 19, police located Rina's body in a wooded area in Onna Village after the investigation focused on Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, a former U.S. Marine who at the time worked as a civilian employee connected to Kadena Air Base.
Investigation and charges
Shinzato was initially arrested in connection with disposal of the body. Investigators later pursued the more serious allegations involving the attack itself, and prosecutors charged him with offences that included murder, rape resulting in death and abandoning the body.
The case drew intense public attention in Okinawa because of Shinzato's past Marine service and then-current work on a U.S. base. Those political and policy debates formed part of the broader reaction to the crime, but they do not alter the individual criminal responsibility determined by the Japanese courts.
Trial
At trial in Naha District Court, Shinzato did not dispute every element of the prosecution case. Reporting from the proceedings noted that he admitted rape resulting in death and disposal of the body but contested the allegation that he intended to kill Rina.
The court rejected that position. On December 1, 2017, Naha District Court found him guilty of rape and murder and imposed a life sentence. In explaining the judgment, the court recognized criminal responsibility for intentionally causing Rina's death.
Appeal
Shinzato appealed. On September 20, 2018, the Naha Branch of the Fukuoka High Court dismissed the appeal, expressly recognizing intent to kill and leaving the original life sentence intact.
He then had a further opportunity to appeal. The deadline expired on October 4, 2018 without another filing. At midnight on October 5, the life sentence therefore became final, ending the ordinary criminal appeal process.
Timeline
April 28, 2016: Rina leaves home in Uruma for a walk and later disappears.
May 19, 2016: investigators locate her body in Onna Village and arrest Shinzato initially in connection with disposal of the body.
June 2016: prosecutors pursue charges including rape and murder.
December 1, 2017: Naha District Court convicts Shinzato and sentences him to life imprisonment.
September 20, 2018: Fukuoka High Court's Naha Branch dismisses his appeal and upholds the life sentence.
October 5, 2018: after no further appeal is filed by the deadline, the life sentence becomes final.
Current status
The case is classified as solved / adjudicated. Kenneth Franklin Shinzato remains convicted of Rina Shimabukuro's rape and murder, and the life sentence became final in October 2018.
Sources
- Ryukyu Shimpo — Naha District Court life sentence, December 2, 2017
- Ryukyu Shimpo — appeal dismissed and life sentence upheld, September 20, 2018
- Ryukyu Shimpo — no final appeal; sentence becomes final, October 5, 2018
- Ryukyu Shimpo — contemporary reporting identifying Rina Shimabukuro and the disappearance, May 2016