Media Reports
Listed below are Honolulu's major news sources. The Hawaii media has been instrumental in keeping the community informed on Masumi's story.
The links below are the original links for the articles. Since the original publication of these articles, Hawaii's two newspapers merged to become The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and the news channels KGMB and KHNL became Hawaii News Now. Therefore, some of the links may no longer work.
このページはますみさんの事件について、 ホノルルのニュースレポートです。
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
- State's top court refuses to hear appeal by convicted murderer of Japanese woman: 10/04/11
The Hawaii Supreme Court refused today to review a state appeals court ruling that affirmed Kirk Lankford's conviction of murdering a Japanese visitor whose body was never recovered. The high court's one-sentence order denied Lankford's request to hear a challenge to a decision last year by the Intermediate Court of Appeals....
The Honolulu Advertiser
- Missing Japanese Exchange Student Sought: 4/13/07
- Student Missing on North Shore: 4/14/07
- Exchange Student Remains Missing: 4/15/07
- Search called off for missing Japan visitor: 4/16/07
- Missing Japanese visitor a murder? 4/27/07
- Sketches offer view of victim's artistic bent: 4/30/07
- Still no trace of missing Japanese woman: 5/02/07
- Murder suspect sought polygraph: 5/03/07
- Police search valley for body: 7/25/07
- Web site launched for Japanese woman presumed dead: 10/10/07
- FindMasumi.org seeks tips on tourist missing in Hawaii: 10/11/07
- Accused killer's trial postponed: 11/1/07
- Hawaii judge blocks murder trial evidence: 11/16/07
- Missing girl's parents ask Hawaii for help: 12/5/07 with Video
- Hawaii murder suspect seen digging in ground: 2/20/08
- Hawaii murder suspect seen digging in ground : 2/20/08
- First witness testifies in Lankford murder trial: 3/4/08
- Lankford might argue accident: 3/6/08
- Man recalls Lankford digging by flashlight: 3/8/08
- Search for body continues a year later: 3/14/08
- Lankford murder trial travels to North Shore: 3/15/08
- Defense says Watanabe died in leap from truck: 3/20/08
- Watanabe's father 'shocked' by Lankford's story: 3/21/08
- Jury visits alleged death site: 4/1/08
- 'I was ashamed of what I had done': 4/3/08
- Lankford describes hiding body: 4/4/08
- Lankford account disputed: 4/5/08
- Lankford account challenged: 4/8/08
- Lankford case goes to trial: 4/11/08
- Masumi's death felt across ocean: 4/12/08
- Hawaii rites honor slain Japan woman: 4/13/08
- Lankford found guilty in woman's death: 4/14/08
- Lankford guilty of murder: 4/15/08
- Judge rules against murderer: 5/13/08
- Masumi's case not yet closed, her father says: 4/19/08
- 'Please ... return her body to us': 8/1/08
The parents of murder victim Masumi Watanabe yesterday said they don't believe killer Kirk Lankford's account of the crime and pleaded with him to tell them where he buried the 21-year-old... - Lankford apologizes - but not for murder - at parole hearing: 3/3/09
The Hawaii Paroling Authority this afternoon said it would announce within 30 days the minimum sentence murderer Kirk Lankford will have to serve before he is eligible for parole... - Killer sticking to his story: 3/4/09
Convicted killer Kirk Lankford apologized to the family of his victim yesterday at a parole hearing at Halawa prison but maintained that he did not murder Masumi Watanabe.... - Parole board calls Lankford's actions 'unconscionable behavior': 4/17/09
Kirk Lankford, convicted of the April 2007 murder of Japanese visitor Masumi Watanabe, must spend at least 150 years behind bars for the killing... - 'Callous' Hawaii killer of Japanese visitor gets 150 years: 4/18/09
The Hawai'i Paroling Authority threw away the key to Kirk Lankford's cell door yesterday, deciding that the 24-year-old murderer must serve at least 150 years behind bars before he can be considered for parole...
Honolulu Star Bulletin
- Truck seized in search for woman: 4/20/07
- Hikers help in hunt for woman: 4/21/07
- Truck owner held in missing-woman case: 4/27/07
- Murder suspect claims innocence: 5/1/07
- Police scour Windward for Watanabe: May 2, 2007
- Watanabe case advances as Lankford is indicted: 5/3/07
- 'Find Masumi' site recalls visitor case: 10/11/07
- Murder suspect’s trial date is delayed: 11/1/07
- Assault case out for murder trial: 11/16/07
- Parents make appeal for help: 12/5/07
- Witnesses link victim to pest control truck: 3/4/08
- Suspect buys shovel in video, officer says: 3/11/08
- Jury retraces steps in case Watanabe case: 3/15/08
- Lankford's defense blames death on leap from truck: 3/20/08
- Pathologist testifies at trial: 3/21/08
- Defense shows jury a rock: 4/1/08
- Lankford details Watanabe's death and her ocean burial: 4/3/08
- Prosecutor asks whether Lankford tailored his story: 4/4/08
- Expert discounts Lankford's story: 4/5/08
- Tests fail to detect victim's DNA: 4/8/08
- Jury set to deliberate in Lankford case: 4/11//08
- Embraced by love: 4/13/08
- Lankford guilty of murder: 4/14/08
- Defendant's story held no credibility, observers say: 4/15/08
- Lankford found guilty: 4/15/08
- Watanabe's father still has questions: 4/19/08
- Killer's wife to aid state’s penalty case: 5/13/08
- Judge calls Lankford a 'predator,' gives him life in prison: 7/31/08
Calling him a predator and a danger to the community, a state judge sentenced Kirk Matthew Lankford this morning to the mandatory life prison term with the possibility for parole for the murder of missing Japanese visitor Masumi Watanabe... - Lankford seeks mercy in North Shore slaying: 3/4/09
Convicted murderer Kirk M. Lankford asked for leniency during a parole board hearing yesterday, saying the death of Japanese visitor Masumi Watanabe was a result of a series of accidents... - Lankford gets 150-year jail term: 4/18/09
Fumiko Watanabe was overcome with tears of joy after she received word that the man convicted of murder in her daughter's disappearance must serve 150 years before he is eligible for parole...
KGMB9 Television: Honolulu, Hawaii
- Japan National Missing on North Shore: 4/13/07
- Search Continues for Japanese Visitor: 4/18/07
- Kalihi Man Arrested for Visitor's Murder: 4/26/07
- Homeless Man Links Suspect to Missing Visitor: 4/27/07
- Man Charged With Murder Of Japanese Visitor: 4/28/07
- Customer Recalls Encounter With Accused Killer: 4/29/07
- High-Profile Murder Suspect in Court: 4/30/07
- Video: New Website to Help Find Masumi: 10/10/07
Just two weeks ago, members of the United Japanese Society had dinner with Watanabe's parents. The meeting inspired several good samaritans to launch www.findmasumi.org. The hope is the site may bring in information that could lead police to her body... - Masumi Watanabe's Parents Makes Public Plea: 12/4/07
Masumi Watanabe's parents are making a public plea in Hawaii Tuesday. For the first time, they are speaking out about their daughter's disappearance more than 7 months ago on Oahu's North Shore... - Opening Arguments for Lankford Trial: 3/3/08
The trial of a man accused of murdering a Japanese visitor is underway. Masumi Watanabe's body has never been found, but in court Monday the city's top prosecutor presented strong circumstantial evidence he said links Kirk Lankford to the crime... - Day 2 of Lankford Trial: Masumi's Mother Takes Stand: 3/5/08
On Wednesday, both sides focused on a pair of glasses found in Lankford's work truck. Prosecutors said they belonged to Masumi... - Day 3: Lankford Murder Trial: 3/6/08
Fighting murder charges, Kirk Lankford faced his former boss in court and a co-worker who says the day Masumi Watanabe disappeared, Lankford returned his work truck with it's windshield shattered. Lankford's story that he hit a bird didn't seem right... - Man Testifies Lankford was Digging a Hole: 3/7/08
A witness described his last face to face meeting with Kirk Lankford, in the pitch black at Kahana Bay, the night Masumi Watanabe disappeared... - Video Evidence Revealed in Lankford Case: 3/10/08
A Honolulu jury saw video of a man buying a shovel, plastic bags, and gloves the same day a Japanese visitor disappeared from the North Shore... - Police Interview of Lankford Played in Court: 3/12/08
Kirk Lankford has stayed quiet so far in his trial for murder, but today the jury got to hear his words as he was interviewed about the disappearance of Masumi Watanabe... - Lankford Trial Day 7: DNA Evidence: 3/13/08
Prosecutors say blood found in Kirk Lankford's truck is definitely from Masumi Watanabe... - Lankford's Murder Trial Goes to the North Shore: 3/14/08
"This is allowing them to see what they've heard about in the courtroom and piece it together geographically in the actual area in the neighborhood where it occurred," said City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle... - Lankford Admits Guilt But Not Murder: 3/19/08
Defense attorney Donald Wilkerson said Kirk Lankford accidentally struck Masumi Watanabe with his work truck last April as she walked along Pupukea Road... - Lankford Defense Tries to Bolster Case: 3/20/08
The attorney for accused murder Kirk Lankford tried Thursday to bolster the defense's claim that Lankford did not kill Masumi Watanabe but that she died as the result of an accident... - Lankford Jury Takes Second Excursion: 3/31/08
"The state was allowed to bring out people to show them points we thought were significant in the case and had been discussed in the courtroom. This was the defense opportunity to do the same thing," said city prosecutor Peter Carlisle... - Lankford Murder Trial Continues: 4/2/08
With his family looking on accused murderer Kirk Lankford told the court how last April 12th he hit Japanese visitor Masumi Watanabe with his work truck on Pupukea Road. He called it an accident... - Lankford Testifies; Admits He Lied to Police: 4/2/08
With his family watching murder suspect Kirk Lankford told the jury how he triple-bagged Masumi Watanabe's body and looked for a place to dump it... - Dan Oyasato Discusses the Lankford Trial: 4/3/08
- Lankford Shows Jury How He Bagged Watanabe's Body: 4/3/08
Kirk Lankford showed the jury how he used heavy duty trash bags he bought from Home Depot to bag Masumi Watanabe's body... - Surprise at Lankford Murder Trial: 4/4/08
Kirk Lankford admits sideswiping Masumi Watanabe with his work truck last April in Pupukea. He said she suffered only scratches on her hands. Accident reconstructionist expert said that's unlikely... - Closing Arguments in Lankford Trial: 4/10/08
"This is not a complicated case," city prosecutor Peter Carlise said. In his closing argument, Carlisle said Masumi Watanabe's death was no accident. He called Lankford a cold, cunning killer... - Lankford Found Guilty of Murder: 4/14/08
A jury reached a decision in the murder trial of Kirk Lankford after a day and a half of deliberations. The guilty verdict came a little more than a year after 21-year-old Japanese visitor Masumi Watanabe disappeared... - Church Reaction to Lankford Guilty Verdict: 4/14/08
It's been a troubling year for the Potter's House Christian Church where Kirk Lankford was a member. "The whole case is very sad, having said that, I was very glad for the verdict," said Pastor of the leadership for Potter's House... - Prosecutors Want Extended Sentence for Lankford: 4/15/08
A jury found Kirk Lankford guilty. Now prosecutors want to make sure he will never be set free... - Video: City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle on Lankford Trial: 4/15/08
It's the highest profile murder case so far this year. On Monday, a jury convicted former pest exterminator Kirk Lankford of killing Masumi Watanabe. City prosecutor Peter Carlisle tells us about evidence that was not allowed in the jury phase... - Masumi's Father Speaks Out About Her Accused Killer: 4/18/08
The 21-year-old's parents thanked everyone in Hawaii for their support since Masumi disappeared last year... - Convicted Murderer Lankford Back in Court: 5/16/08
On Monday, convicted murderer Kirk Lankford will face a jury again. This time for sentencing in the murder of Masumi Watanabe, and this time Lankford's wife is expected to take the stand to talk about accusations against her husband... - Convicted Killer Faces Parole Board: 3/3/09
The parents of the victim, Masumi Watanabe, flew in from Japan to face Kirk Lankford at Halawa Correctional Facility. They collected petitions from more than 34,000 people in Japan and Hawaii calling for a lengthy minimum sentence for the murder... - Lankford Gets 150-Year Minimum Sentence: 4/17/09
The Hawaii Paroling Authority has sentenced Kirk Lankford to 150 years for the 2007 murder of Japanese visitor Masumi Watanabe...
KHNL8 & K5 Television: Honolulu, Hawaii
- Vistor From Japan Vanishes During Walk in Pupukea: 4/13/07
- Possible Break in the Case of Missing Japanese Visitor: 4/17/07
- Search for Missing Japanese Visitor Moves to Windward Oahu, Kalihi: 4/18/07
- Police Release Photos of Truck Seized in Missing Woman Case: 4/20/07
- Police Chief Talks About Case Involving Missing Japanese Visitor: 4/26/07
- Exterminator Charged with Murder in North Shore Disappearance: 4/29/07
- Man Accused of Murdering Japanese Visitor Appears in Court: 4/30/07
- Grand Jury Indicts Man Accused of Killing Visitor from Japan: 5/2/07
- North Shore Vigil For Masumi Watanabe: 6/2/07
- Video: New Website Aims at Locating Body of Murdered Tourist: 10/11/07
- Parents of Murdered Japanese Tourist Ask for Public's Help in Locating Body: 12/4/07
- Trial Opens for Man Accused of Killing Japanese Tourist Masumi Watanabe: 3/3/08
- Masumi Watanabe's Grieving Mother Testifies at Murder Trial: 3/5/08
- Jury in Watanabe Murder Trial Views Store Surveillance Video: 3/10/08
- Lankford Attorney Takes Stand in His Defense: 3/20/08
- Defense Presents its Side in Missing Woman's Case: 3/20/08
- Man Charged With Murdering Japanese Tourist Takes Witness Stand: 4/2/08
- Lankford Takes Stand on Murder Trial: 4/3/08
- Prosecutors Grill Pest Control Worker About Japanese Tourist's Death: 4/3/08
- Attorneys Deliver Closing Arguments in Lankford Murder Trial: 4/10/08
- Lankford Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder: 4/14/08
Kirk Lankford has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Japanese visitor Masumi Watanabe... - Man Not Giving Up Search For Masumi Watanabe's Body: 4/15/08
Even though Kirk Lankford's trial is over, one man's search for Masumi Watanabe's body continues. The creator of the findmasumi.org website says Monday's guilty verdict is just the first step... - Masumi Watanabe's Father Wants Lankford To Give Up Body's Location: 4/18/08
The father of murdered Japanese tourist Masumi Watanabe says he wants the killer to tell him where her body is... - Convicted Killer Avoids State's Stiffest Punishment of Life Without Parole: 5/19/08
Honolulu prosecutors want Kirk Lankford to spend the rest of his life in prison. But the man convicted of murdering Japanese tourist Masumi Watanabe avoided the state's harshest sentence of life without the possibility of parole Monday... - Man convicted of killing Japanese tourist receives life sentence: 7/31/08
An Oahu judge formally sentences a Kalihi man to life in prison... - Prosecutors seek 120-year sentence for Lankford: 3/3/09
Describing him as a dangerous sociopath, Honolulu's chief prosecutor on Tuesday asked the parole board to set Kirk Lankford's minimum prison sentence at 120 years... - Parole board sets Lankford's minimum term at 150 years: 4/17/09
One hundred fifty years in prison. That's how long the man convicted of murdering Japanese tourist Masumi Watanabe must serve before he's eligible for parole...
KHON2 Television: Honolulu, Hawaii
- Video: Japanese Woman Missing in Pupukea: 4/13/07
Police and firefighters spent much of today in Pupukea on Oahu's north shore, seeking a missing woman from Japan. Masumi Watanabe has been living here with family friends, but missing since Thursday morning. And she is described as almost painfully shy... - Video: New website launched to find missing Japanese visitor: 10/10/07
Volunteers have launched findmasumi.org to give community members the chance to share what they know... - Murder trial for Honolulu man accused of killing Japanese visitor opens: 3/3/08
The murder trial for a Honolulu man opened on Monday... - Grieving Mother Testifies at Murder Trial: 3/5/08
The parents of Masumi Watanabe thought sending their daughter to Hawaii would be a good idea. They felt it would help her grow up... - Witness Saw Lankford Digging Holes: 3/7/08
A witness who says he saw Kirk Lankford at Kahana Bay around midnight the day Masumi Watanabe went missing took the stand Friday... - Surveillance videos unveiled in Watanabe murder trial: 3/10/08
Prosecutors say murder suspect Kirk Lankford made two shopping trips the day Masumi Watanabe went missing... - D.N.A. Evidence introduced at Lankford murder trial:3/13/08
A Honolulu Police Department D.N.A. specialist said blood samples found in Lankford's work truck had the same D.N.A. pattern as Masumi Watanabe... - Lankford murder trial takes field trip: 3/14/08
Prosecutors tried to make areas on a map real for the jurors in this trial. So, they took a field trip to Oahu's north shore... - Lankford hit Masumi, but didn't kill her: 3/19/08
The man accused of murdering Masumi Watanabe admits he hit the Japanese national with his truck, but says he did not kill her... - Another Field Trip for Lankford Murder Trial Jurors: 3/31/08
For the second time in the past three weeks the jury in the Kirk Lankford murder trial travelled to Oahu's north shore... - Lankford Admits he hit Watanabe but Didn't Kill Her: 4/2/08
Accused murderer Kirk Lankford took the stand in his own defense today. He admits he hit Masumi Watanabe with his work truck nearly one year ago, but he says he didn't kill her... - Crash Recreation Expert Contradicts Lankford Testimony: 4/4/08
A crash witness expert contradicted Lankford's statements in circuit court on Friday... - Jurors to Deliberate Verdict for Lankford: 4/10/08
Before a packed courtroom, Prosecuting attorney Peter Carlisle recapped the jury on the facts of the trial . And put into question Kirk Lankford's testimony...that he didn't kill Masumi Watanabe... - Masumi Watanabe's Memorial: 4/12/08
Hundreds of people, even those who didn't know Masumi Watanabe personally, came to pay their respects to her and her family... - Jury Finds Lankford Guilty of Murder: 4/14/08
Lankford faces a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole, but under the state’s new extended sentencing law the jury could decide to lock Lankford up for good... - Lankford Guilty Verdict: Reaction from Church Pastor: 4/15/08
One of the pastors of the church that Kirk Lankford attended says he's not surprised by the verdict -- in fact he feels justice prevailed... - Watanabes grateful for guilty verdict: 4/18/08
Masumi Watanabe's father spoke to reporters this afternoon by phone from Japan. The Watanabes were on a flight back home when Kirk Lankford was found guilty of murdering their daughter. .. - 120 Years?: 3/3/09
The parents of murder victim Masumi Watanabe arrived at the Halawa Correctional Facility and presented the Hawaii Paroling Authority with 35,000 letters, the majority of them from Japan, expressing outrage toward convicted murderer Kirk Lankford... - Convicted Killer Gets 150 Years For Murder of Japanese National: 4/17/09
Convicted murderer Kirk Lankford will spend the rest of his life behind bars. The man convicted of killing Japanese national Masumi Watanabe, two years ago, will spend a minimum of 150 years in jail before he is eligible for parole...
KITV4 Television: Honolulu, Hawaii
- Man Arrested In Connection With Student's Disappearance: 4/27/07
- VIDEO: Kalihi Man Charged In Japan Women's Slaying: 4/29/07
- VIDEO: Suspected Murderer of Missing Japanese Woman in Court: 5/1/07
- Tip Leads Police Back To Search Of Missing Japanese Woman: 7/24/07
- VIDEO: Search For Missing Japanese Visitor Continues: 7/25/07
- Group Starts Web Site To Find Missing Japan Woman: 10/10/07
- Missing Japanese Visitor Murder Suspect On Trial: 3/3/08
- Grieving Mother Faces Off With Lankford's Defense Lawyer: 3/5/08
- Prosecutors Use Shopping Footage Against Lankford: 3/11/08
- Expert Links DNA Of Woman In Defendant's Truck: 3/14/08
- Lankford Trial Tours Alleged Crime Scenes: 3/15/08
- Lawyer Claims Lankford Disposed Of Body, Not Murder: 3/20/08
- Lankford Says He Only Injured Watanabe: 3/20/08
- Murder Trial Begins In Case Without Body: 3/4/08
- Lankford Trial Sparks Confrontation: 3/6/08
- Prosecutors Show Shopping Photos In Murder Trial: 3/11/08
- Attorney: "Matt" Dumped Victim's Body In Ocean: 3/19/08
- Defense Questions Evidence In "Matt" Murder Trial: 3/21/08
- Lankford Takes The Stand In Court: 4/2/08
- Lankford Says He Wanted Watanabe To Rest In Peace: 4/3/08
- Expert Says Lankford's Description 'Impossible': 4/4/08
- Jury To Decide On Lankford Murder Case: 4/10/08
- Lankford Found Guilty Of Murder: 4/14/08
- Locals Reaction to Lankford Verdict: 4/15/08
- Video: Frustration Fumes After Lankford Conviction: 4/16/08
- Prosecutor Wants Lankford To Serve 120 Years: 3/3/09
It's a case that grabbed international attention. Now, the man convicted of murdering Japanese tourist Masumi Watanabe on Oahu's North Shore two years ago is hoping for mercy from the Hawaii parole board... - Board Gives Lankford 150 Years In Prison: 4/17/09
Prosecutors asked the Hawaii Paroling Authority Board on March 3 to keep Kirk Lankford behind bars for 120 years; the board gave him 150 years...
Japanese Media
- ハワイ邦人女性殺害 被告に有罪判決: 4/15/07
NTV NEWS CHANNEL 24 - NEWS VIDEO: ＤＮＡ合致 ハワイ邦人女性不明で男を逮捕: 4/27/07
NTV NEWS CHANNEL 24 - NEWS VIDEO: ハワイ 女性不明 男を起訴、来月２日初公判: 4/29/07
NTV NEWS CHANNEL 24 - NEWS VIDEO: ハワイ邦人女性不明 初公判で男は無罪主張: 5/1/07
NTV NEWS CHANNEL 24 - 読売新聞: 服役１５０年…ハワイの日本女性殺害被告に事実上の終身刑: 4/18/09
米ハワイ州オアフ島で２００７年、ホームステイしていた渡辺真澄さん（当時２１歳）が殺害された事件で、同州の仮釈放審査委員会は１７日、第２級殺人罪で有罪評決を受けたカーク・ランクフォード被告（２４）の服役期間を最低１５０年に決めたと発表した。。。 - 時事通信: ハワイ邦人殺害、服役「最低１５０年」: 4/18/09
アメリカ・ハワイ州のオアフ島で、２００７年４月、ホームステイしていた日本人女性が殺害された事件で、有罪評決を受けた男の服役期間が、最低１５０年となることがわかりました。。。 - 毎日新聞: ＜ハワイ日本女性殺害＞被告に服役最低１５０年: 4/18/09
０７年に米ハワイ州オアフ島で新潟県佐渡市、渡辺真澄さん（当時２１歳）を殺害したとして、仮釈放の可能な終身刑が言い渡され ていたカーク・ランクフォード被告（２４）に対し、州仮釈放審査委員会は１７日、服役期間を最低１５０年と決めた。。。 - TBS News: ハワイ邦人殺害、服役「最低１５０年」: 4/18/09
アメリカ・ハワイ州のオアフ島で、２００７年４月、ホームステイしていた日本人女性が殺害された事件で、有罪評決を受けた男の服役期間が、最低１５０年となることがわかりました。。。 - 読売新聞: 服役１５０年、父「多くの署名のおかげ」: 4/19/09
佐渡市出身の渡辺真澄さん（当時２１歳）が米ハワイ州オアフ島で殺害された事件で、同州の仮釈放審査委員会が第２級殺人罪で有罪評決を受けたカーク・ランクフォード被告（２４）の服役期間を最低１５０年と決めた。。。
