Kiyoko Nagumo was an elderly Japanese-American woman living in San Atanasio, California. One day she became concerned when her sister, Eiko Ryan, failed to show for lunch. She telephoned her and when she didn't answer, Mrs. Nagumo came to her apartment at Marseille Gardens. She had the property manager unlock the apartment door, worried that her sister might have fallen and broken her hip, but the two found her dead on the floor apparently the victim of murder. Mrs. Nagumo immediately called 9-1-1 and waited for police to arrive.