Body in River Identified as Suspect in Hyogo Murder Case

Kobe, June 4 (Jiji Press)–A body found in a river in Hyogo Prefecture was identified as that of the 42-year-old wanted suspect in a murder case that took place in the western Japan prefecture last month, the Hyogo prefectural police said Thursday. In connection with the investigation of the case, in which a 74-year-old mother and 52-year-old daughter were killed in the Hyogo city of Tatsuno, the police confirmed through DNA testing and other examinations that the body found in the river in the city was that of the suspect, Kenji Oyama. Oyama was placed on the public wanted list on May 24 for allegedly killing the daughter. The body was wearing pants that were similar to those described by witnesses. “It is true that clarifying a potential motive has become difficult,” a senior official of the police department said, adding, “We hope to reveal it through further investigation.” The police plan to send papers on the dead suspect to the Himeji branch of the Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office in Hyogo on suspicion of murdering the mother and daughter. A judicial autopsy found that the man likely died around May 20. The cause of his death was not identified, with no visible injuries on the body other than slashes on his face, head and hands that are believed to have been made while he was being swept downstream. No contents were found in the stomach. On Wednesday morning, a passerby spotted the body floating on its back in the river approximately 15 kilometers from the house where the mother and daughter were murdered. Around May 13, Oyama is suspected of killing the daughter, Chihiro Tanaka, by stabbing her multiple times in the neck at the house of her mother, Sumie. On May 19, a police officer who visited the house to confirm their safety found their bodies. Oyama, who had lived next to the victims’ house until about 10 years ago, emerged as a suspect based on an analysis of evidence left at the scene and security camera footage near the house. The police began an open investigation on May 24. The police mobilized a total of about 600 personnel to investigate his whereabouts, receiving some 380 tips. Cigarette butts, a comic book and a long-sleeved T-shirt belonging to the suspect were found under a bridge and on the street near the crime scene. Clothes that the suspect is believed to have been wearing at the time of the crime were also found in the vacant house next door where he used to live. The house also showed signs that he had entered it after the incident. The suspect was last seen under the bridge on May 20, and his whereabouts remained unknown thereafter. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]