Author is Called by the Police to Explain Real-Life Crime Matching Her Script

Imagine the situation: you work as a writer, crafting novels, anime scripts, and screenplays to make a living. Then one day, the police appear and say they want you to testify. And the reason? Someone committed a crime exactly like one of the scripts you wrote.

This happened this month to screenwriter and author Hiroko Fukuda.

Author is Called by the Police to Explain Real-Life Crime Matching Her Script

The writer revealed that she was called to testify after a violent crime showed a method almost identical to one she had created in one of her scripts. The idea of crimes inspired by fictional works isn’t new, especially in mystery stories, but seeing it happen in real life is rare and unsettling.

According to her, the moment was terrifying. When contacted by the police, she even imagined the possibility of being falsely accused. During the process, she had to present alibis and explain in detail how she had created the “trick” used in the script. For the investigators, there was a chance the idea could provide clues about the real criminal.

“There was a case of a violent crime that was extremely similar to the murder trick I wrote in a script, so I was called to testify with a detective. At that moment, I was so scared that I imagined being arrested, carrying an unjust guilt, and spending the rest of my life in prison…

But after two sessions of questioning in a family restaurant, I even received a keychain of the police mascot at the end.”

Despite the initial tension, the meetings with the detectives went smoothly, even in a family restaurant. Over time, the situation became lighter, and the writer said the police even asked if she had any suggestions that might help them catch the criminal. She shared her own theories about the case, immersing herself in the investigation as if she were inside one of her stories.

Hiroko Fukuda said the detectives who interrogated her were very kind, and they asked about the circumstances in which she had thought of that crime idea for her script.