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Iwate cops suspect murder-arson after 2 corpses found at burned-out home

Outside the residence in Morioka City
Outside the residence in Morioka City

IWATE (TR) – Iwate Prefectural Police are investigating what is believed to have been murder-arson after two bodies were found at a burned-out home in Morioka City, reports Asahi Shimbun (May 18).

At approximately 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the body of Mitsuo Yoshida, 65, was found collapsed in the garden of the residence, located in the Nishimatsuzono area. His face and head appeared to have been struck repeatedly with a blunt object, according to Iwate Prefectural Police.

Yoshida was later confirmed dead at a nearby hospital.

Police also found another body, whose identity and gender remain unknown, in the ruins of the home on the first floor.

About 10 minutes before arriving at the scene, emergency services received a call from a person believed to have been Yoshida about the building being on fire.

According to Yoshida’s wife, her husband got into a fight with a man in the garden after the fire started. The man then rushed into the residence while it was ablaze.

The wife of Yoshida was unharmed in the incident.