FUKUOKA (TR) – Fukuoka Prefectural Police have arrested a 38-year-old male officer in the killing of his wife at their residence Ogori City. The bodies of the woman and her two children were found inside the premises earlier this week, reports Fuji News Network (June 9).
Mitsuru Nakata, a sergeant in a communications division, has been accused of murder in the killing of 38-year-old Yukiko Nakata. At around 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, the woman, her son Ryosuke, 9, and daughter Miyu, 6, were found collapsed inside the residence by the Yukiko’s sister.
Nakata has denied killing his wife. No charges have been filed in the deaths of his children.
“It is highly regrettable that an officer has been arrested for the serious crime of murder. We would like to extend an apology to all citizens of the prefecture,” said Makoto Hisata, a chief of the Fukuoka Prefectural Police, at a press conference on Thursday, according to Jiji Press (June 8).
Police arriving at the scene on Tuesday initially viewed the case as a murder-suicide since burned charcoal was found in the kitchen, the location of the discovery of Yukiko’s body. However, an examination of her neck showed indications that she had been strangled.
The bodies of the children were found atop futons in a bedroom on the second floor. They also are believed to have been strangled to death.
The suspect initially claimed that all three persons were sleeping when he left the home at about 6:45 a.m. that same day. However, the results of an autopsy conducted on the children revealed that they died before 5:00 a.m.
Yukiko’s sister arrived at the residence after a person at the children’s elementary school called her to say that they did not arrive that morning.
