TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested an 18-year-old boy in the killing of his girlfriend in Taito Ward earlier this month, reports TV Asahi (May 14).
At 8:30 a.m. on May 4, police found the body of Mai Sato, 17, inside her burned-out residence, located in the Ueno Sakuragi area. On Saturday, officers from the Shitaya Police Station arrested her boyfriend, 18, on charges of murder.
The suspect has admitted to the charges. “I strangled her with my hands, and I set [the building] on fire,” he told police.
According to police, the suspect assaulted Sato, a third-year high school student, on May 3 and 4. After setting the building on fire, he alerted emergency services about the blaze.
The boy, who is a classmate of the victim, suffered from smoke inhalation in the incident. After being released from the hospital, police began interviewing him about the case.
During questioning, the suspect initially claimed that he tried to save Sato after the fire broke out. However, he gradually admitted involvement in the crime as questioning continued, according to TBS News (May 14).
