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Tokyo cops: Murder-suicide suspected at Tachikawa residence

Outside the residence in Tachikawa City
Outside the residence in Tachikawa City

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police are investigating what is believed to have been a murder-suicide following the discovery of a man and disabled wife at a residence in Tachikawa City, reports TV Asahi (Oct. 9).

At around 1:40 p.m. on Saturday, a man, aged in 50s, alerted police after finding the bodies of his father, Fujiya Hirahara, 87, and mother, 84-year-old Masako, collapsed in separate rooms of the residence.

Police arriving at the scene found Fujiya lying atop a futon with stab wounds to his stomach while Masako appeared to have been hit over the head with a blunt instrument. Both persons were confirmed dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital.

Since last year, Fujiya had been taking care of his wife, who suffered from a foot ailment. “It is painful to live like this,” read a note found at the scene next to a knife, according to NHK (Oct. 8). “To have lived 87 years is fine.”

Police suspect that Fujiya stabbed himself after killing his wife.

The couple’s son visited the residence after not being able to contact his parents.