Do you know who murdered Loulli? Dr. Tsunao Saitoh was an accomplished and well-respected research neuroscientist at UCSD. On May 8, 1996 at about 11:00 p.m., Dr. Saitoh and his 13-year-old daughter, Loullie, returned home from the research lab on campus. As their car pulled up to the front of their home, an unknown suspect or suspects ambushed Dr. Saitoh and his daughter in the driveway, shooting and killing them both. Neighbors heard the gunshots and passers-by found the bodies a short time afterward. Dr.
Saitoh was slumped over in the car and Loullie had run a short distance before being gunned down.
Numerous .380 caliber casings were found in the driveway and street where the gunshots were fired. Based on a ballistics analysis of these casings, the murder weapon was identified as a Grendel P-12 .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a gun manufactured in limited quantities.
The Grendel P-12 semi-automatic pistol (pictured) is the same make and model of gun as the one used to murder Dr. Saitoh and his daughter. The murder weapon itself was not located. Investigators are interested in following up on any leads related to this case.
An exhaustive investigation was conducted in this case, and the motive for the double murder remains a mystery. Dr. Saitoh had no known enemies, and neither he nor his daughter was involved in any high-risk activities.
