Hyogo Prefectural Police confirmed Thursday that a body found in a river in the city of Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, was that of a 42-year-old man wanted on suspicion of murdering a mother and daughter in the city.
Police had been conducting DNA testing and other checks after the trousers found on the body closely matched witness descriptions of those worn by the suspect, Kenji Oyama.
A passerby on Wednesday morning discovered the body floating face up in a river in the city¡¯s Mitsucho Nakashima district, about 15 kilometers from the site of the suspected double murder.
An autopsy failed to determine the cause of death, and police estimate he died around May 20. There were no major visible injuries apart from cuts to his face, head and hands, believed to have been caused while he was carried by the river¡¯s current. His stomach was empty.
Oyama had been wanted on suspicion of killing 52-year-old Chihiro Tanaka around May 13 at the home of her mother, 74-year-old Sumie Tanaka. He is suspected of fatally stabbing Chihiro multiple times in the neck with what appeared to be a knife.
Police officers who visited the home on May 19 to check on the two women¡¯s safety found both of them dead.
Investigators later identified Oyama, who had lived next door to the victims until about 10 years ago, as a suspect based on security camera footage from the area and forensic analysis of evidence left at the scene. Police placed him?on a public wanted list on May 24.
Police deployed a cumulative total of about 600 investigators to search for Oyama?and received around 380 tips. Items believed to belong to him, including cigarette butts, comic books and a long-sleeved T-shirt, were found under bridges near the scene. A search of Oyama¡¯s now-abandoned house?also turned up clothing believed to have been worn at the time of the killings. There were also signs that someone had entered the property after the incident.
However, Oyama¡¯s whereabouts were unknown since he was last seen on May 20.
A senior prefectural police official said that it had become difficult to determine what a potential motive could be for the killings, but added that investigators would continue to carry out the necessary work to shed further light on the case.
Police plan to send papers to the Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office on suspicion that Oyama murdered both women.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.