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Suspect in high-profile murder case kills himself

A Japanese businessman accused of conspiring to have his wife murdered 27 years ago in Los Angeles committed suicide less than 24 hours after he set foot in the continental United States to answer to the charges.

61 years old, Kazuyoshi Miura hanged himself with a piece of his shirt Friday night, police said.

His attorney, Mark Geragos, was notified early Saturday by prosecutors about his client's death.

"I'm shocked," Geragos said. "One of my lawyers was with him for 12 hours yesterday and he seemed in good spirits. He was looking forward to fighting this."

Miura arrived in Los Angeles on Friday after a trip from the U.S. commonwealth of Saipan, where he had been held since his February arrest on a 1988.

Miura was accused of plotting to have his wife killed during a visit the couple made to Los Angeles in 1981. A bullet hit Miura in the leg, and his wife, Kazumi Miura, 28, was shot in the head. She died of her wounds a year later in Japan.

Los Angeles County prosecutors contended Miura wanted his wife dead so he could collect about $750,000 on her life insurance policies. They argued that he signaled someone to shoot the couple, although no one else has been charged.

After the 1988 arrest warrant was issued, prosecutors in Los Angeles decided to work with Japanese authorities instead of trying to have him extradited. He was convicted of murder in Japan in 1994, but the verdict ultimately was overturned and Japan's highest court issued an acquittal.

Chief of Detectives Charlie Beck said Miura's body was discovered during a routine cell inspection at 9:45 p.m. Friday. Medical personnel were summoned and Miura was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, Beck said.