On 12 December 1988, Miyazaki abducted 4-year-old Erika Namba as she was returning home from a friend's house. Miyazaki had forced Namba into his car then drove to a parking lot in Naguri, Saitama, where he forced her to remove her clothes in the back seat and began to take pictures of her. Miyazaki killed Namba then tied her hands and feet behind her back, covered her with a bed sheet, and placed her body in his car's trunk. Miyazaki disposed of Namba's clothes in a wooded area and left her body in the adjoining parking lot, where it was discovered three days later. On 20 December, Namba's family received a postcard sent by Miyazaki with a message assembled using words cut out of magazines: 「絵梨香、かぜ、せき、のど、楽、死 」 ("Erika. Cold. Cough. Throat. Rest. Death.")