Kuniko Yamamoto (Case Closed)

Kuniko Yamamoto (Hiromi Tsuru; 1968-2017) is the villainess of "The Mysterious Retro Room Case", episode 8.21 of Case Closed (airdate November 20, 2000). She was a left-handed clothing designer and old college friends with three of her colleagues, including children's clothing designer Naomi Fujimara.
The episode began with Kuniko (along with her and Naomi's two friends, Kaori Obayashi and Kanami Kaneda) going to join Naomi for a trip to the amusement park Dolphinland, running into Kogoro Mouri at the train station, along with his daughter Ran and Conan Edogawa. Upon arriving at their hotel room, however, the three friends were horrified to find Naomi dead, having been stabbed in the chest with a knife.
While it initially appeared that Naomi had been killed by a burglar, Conan eventually deduced the truth: Naomi had been murdered by Kuniko. Kuniko's backstory revealed that she and Naomi had been vying for the same job in America after graduating college, with Naomi receiving the job after seducing their professor. Kuniko learned the truth from the professor after he got drunk while the two were out together, leading Kuniko to plot to kill Naomi in revenge for stealing the job from her. After stabbing Naomi to death in their hotel room, Kuniko put Naomi's cell phone in a plastic bag and took it with her to the train station, dialing her number on Naomi's phone to make it appear she was calling from the hotel. Kuniko additionally covered her tracks by setting up a trick involving string and an ice cream bar to make it appear that Naomi put a coin in the coin-operated television in their room, giving herself an alibi for her death. But as the three women were preparing to leave, Conan heard the plastic bag that was still in Kuniko's pocket, causing him to realize she was the true killer.
After knocking out Kogoro to impersonate him, Conan explained how Kuniko had killed Naomi and orchestrated a cover-up for herself, much to the shock of Kaori and Kanami. Kuniko attempted to deny everything, but was exposed when the plastic bag was found in her pocket, with the fingerprint pattern on it revealing how she'd taken Naomi's cell phone and dialed her own number on it while it was still in the bag. Caught, the evil Kuniko confessed to killing Naomi, stating that she could never forgive her for stealing the job from her. She also revealed that she'd lied about her claims of being on the verge of opening her own boutique, as she had in actuality been fired from her job as a result of her alcoholism. Kuniko went on to blast Naomi for (in her mind) humiliating her and stealing her happiness from her before breaking down in tears, before being placed under arrest.
Category:2000s
Category:Anime Villainess
Category:Brunette
Category:Callous
Category:Deceiver
Category:Hero's Friend
Category:Knife
Category:Murderer
Category:Murder: Stabbing
Category:Vengeful
Category:Villainous Reveal
Category:Fate: Arrested