The Unsolved Mystery of Mikiko Kasahara: A Quest for Justice in Seguin, Texas

December 13, 2002 was the last day of the Fall semester for students at Texas Lutheran University.

Finals were over, it was Friday night and a group of friends who were eager to celebrate the new-found freedom that was Winter break gathered at the Sunset Terrace Apartments just off campus. They stayed until the early hours of the morning, reluctant to say goodbye to one another until the next term. It would be around 5 a.m. when the last of the party-goers trickled out of the apartment complex.  

It was the same complex firefighters would respond to just a couple of hours later. They would battle the flames for roughly an hour while neighbors gathered nearby to watch the scene unfold. A headcount of residents by police would come up short.

Mikiko Kasahara courtesy of The Texas Department of Public Safety

21-year-old Mikiko Kasahara would remain unaccounted for until the smoke cleared and the heat subsided. Her charred and battered remains would be found in her bedroom kicking off a homicide case that has yet to be solved.

Texas Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $3,000 to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of the person/persons responsible for this crime. To be eligible for the cash rewards, tipsters MUST call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477). All tips are anonymous. Tipsters will be provided a tip number instead of using a name.

Information on this case may also be submitted in the following manner:

• Submit a Tip Online through the Texas Rangers’ Cold Case website.

• Contact them by telephone at 1-800-346-3243. Your information will be forwarded to the Texas Ranger assigned to the case.

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SOURCES:

• https://www.dps.texas.gov/apps/coldCase/Home/Details/7

• https://torontosun.com/news/world/crime-hunter-who-murdered-torched-texas-co-ed

• https://seguingazette.com/alert/tlu-student-strangled-before-apartment-fire/article_5464a831-3906-59d9-9036-1854daec9c75.html

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/590745551/?terms=mikiko%20kasahara&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/646389541/?terms=mikiko%20kasahara&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/331411892/?terms=mikiko%20kasahara&match=1

• https://seguingazette.com/news/article_94e0e900-4720-11e2-ab4b-001a4bcf887a.html#tncms-source=login

• History & Traditions | Texas Lutheran University (tlu.edu)

• https://www.mrt.com/news/article/Autopsy-Texas-Lutheran-student-strangled-before-7800358.php

• https://www.click2houston.com/news/texas/2020/06/03/inside-texas-cold-cases-a-young-japanese-student-strangled-her-body-burned-just-hours-after-partying-with-friends/

• The Tragic Death of Mikiko Kasahara - The CrimeWire

• https://seguingazette.com/news/article_abf2eff4-3b28-57c7-b4c8-1c8a697f1461.html

• https://seguingazette.com/news/article_c9386b4f-ef08-5ba0-b816-168afc91889a.html

• https://seguingazette.com/news/article_ced0b27a-b194-5835-8773-f7931d109c9c.html

SOURCES 'The Case that caught my eye'

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Laci_Peterson

• https://www.npr.org/2024/01/19/1225616374/los-angeles-innocence-project-takes-scott-petersons-case-decades-after-conviction

• https://innocenceproject.org/statement-on-developments-in-the-scott-peterson-case-california/