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Body found dumped in Hiroshima confirmed as belonging to missing Nara woman

Shunichi Somei
Shunichi Somei

HIROSHIMA (TR) – Nara Prefectural Police have confirmed that the body found dumped at a residence in Kure City on October 12 belongs to a woman who went missing in Nara Prefecture earlier in the month, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Oct. 15).

Police found the body of Tajima Tomomi, a 35-year-old restaurant employee living in Ikaruga, Nara, wrapped in a cloth and stuffed inside a plastic bag on the property of the residence, located in the town of Kurahashi.

Police searched the premises after grilling Shunichi Somei, the 37-year-old manager of the restaurant employing Tajima, He was subsequently accused of abandoning the body of Tajima sometime at the residence, which is his family’s home, between October 4 and 11.

Tajima went missing after meeting with the suspect on a road in Yamatokoriyama City, Nara on October 4. She missed an appointment at a hair salon that night.

Beginning on October 5, her account on the smartphone application Line has been inactive. Relatives of Tajima filed a missing persons report the same day.

Cause of death not known

On October 11, police apprehended Somei in Hiroshima City. After questioning, police searched the residence and found the body of Tajima.

The suspect has admitted to the charge of abandoning a corpse. Based on the questioning of the suspect, police believe he killed the victim in another location and moved her body to the residence. However, the results of an autopsy did not reveal the cause of death, police said.