Authorities on Tuesday said they are looking into the homicide of a man found in a car in Johnston County months earlier and are asking for help to unwind the mystery.
Toshio Takashima, 87, was found unconscious in February in the driver's seat of a Ford Mustang parked along Interstate 95 in Johnston County.
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Takashima, who was from Virginia, was found after a report of a car accident on I-95 near Four Oaks early in the morning of Feb. 21. He was taken to WakeMed for treatment.
According to court documents, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol initially charged Takashima with possession of a stolen car and other traffic-related misdemeanors, but the charges were later dropped.
On March 17, troopers asked the State Bureau of Investigation for help after "being advised of inconsistencies with Mr. Takashima's injuries." Neither the Highway Patrol nor SBI have said what those inconsistencies were.
About a month later, he died at WakeMed, a day short of his 88th birthday. An examination by the North Carolina Medical Examiner's Office classified his death as a homicide.
The SBI, Johnston County Sheriff's Office and Highway Patrol are working together to determine how Takashima died and who might be responsible. Anyone with information is asked to call the SBI at 919-662-4500 or the Johnston County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division at 919-989-5010.