USG Audio Launching ‘Faceless’, True-Crime Podcast About Bizarre, Cold-Blooded Japanese Murder

Peter White
·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: In December 2000, a man broke into a suburban Tokyo home and ruthlessly slaughtered an entire unsuspecting family. But instead of fleeing the scene, the brutal killer – dubbed The Faceless Man – made himself at home. He took a nap; he ate their food; he used their computer; he changed into clothes owned by one of the victims; and then seemingly vanished in broad daylight.

This story is now set to be told in full in a podcast series from USG Audio, the podcast arm of Universal Studio Group.

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Faceless will explore the shocking story of the murders of the Miyazawa family in Setagaya, Tokyo. It will ask why, over two decades later, the motive remains unknown and the man was never identified, despite leaving thousands of pieces of evidence at the scene, including his clothes, the murder weapon and his DNA.

The series comes from British-Spanish crime author Nicolás Obregón, who has spent a decade researching the case. Obregón, who first stumbled across the Miyazawa Family mystery while on assignment in Japan, loosely based his first novel Blue Light Yokohama on the case.

Each episode of the seven-part series will explore details of the case and multiple theories, with Obregón traveling to a small desert town in California to chase down a fresh lead.

It is produced by USG Audio and What’s the Story? Sounds, which is behind series including Audible’s Body of Proof and the Romola Garai-narrated Smoking Gun.

It is the latest series for USG Audio, which is responsible for series including Alligator Candy, The Lost Kids and scripted series The End Up.

Faceless will launch on October 4 with its first two episodes before rolling out weekly. Listen to the trailer below.

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