Local News in Brief : Accessory to Murder Charge Dropped
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An accessory to murder charge was dismissed Friday against a Tarzana woman accused of aiding her son after he allegedly killed her husband, a wealthy Japanese-born investor whose body was found buried in Malibu Canyon.
Superior Court Judge Curtis Rappe dismissed the charge against Sanae Sakai, 51, at the request of Deputy Dist. Atty. Lonnie A. Felker.
Felker asked the judge to drop the charge at the start of a hearing on a defense motion calling for its dismissal because of insufficient evidence that Sakai aided anyone in the death of her estranged husband, Takashi (Glenn) Sakai.
Felker said, however, that charges may be refiled against the woman after further investigation.
Takashi Sakai, 54, disappeared April 20, 1987, while in the midst of a bitter divorce dispute with his wife. The couple’s son, 21-year-old Toru Sakai, was arrested in December but was later released when prosecutors said they had insufficient evidence to hold him. At the time, the body of his father had not been discovered.
After Sakai’s body was found Feb. 10, his son, who by then had fled from his Tarzana home, was charged with murder. Toru Sakai is still being sought.
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