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Tokyo police identify lady in lake as 88-year-old woman

Police have identified the body of a woman found dismembered in a lake in Meguro Ward as that of Tokiko Abe
Police have identified the body of a woman found dismembered in a lake in Meguro Ward as that of Tokiko Abe

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have determined that the body found dismembered in a lake in Meguro Ward last week is that of an 88-year-old woman, reports the Sankei Shimbun (June 27).

A DNA analysis conducted on body pieces retrieved from a lake in Himonya Park proved to be a match for Tokiko Abe, a resident of the nearby Nozawa area of Setagaya Ward.

Abe, who lives by herself, has not been seen since June 19, when she was with visiting family members at her residence. However, a handyman was unable to reach her at the residence the following morning.

On June 23, police received a tip in the morning from a visitor to the park about what appeared to be a human body part floating in the lake. Officers arriving at the scene subsequently recovered two feet, two hands, a head and part of a lower back.

The following day, divers searching the lake found four more body parts, including a right thigh bone, which had been fractured and repaired with a metal plate at some point while the woman was alive.

Using the information about the fracture and the condition of the teeth, investigators speculated that the body was that of Abe after an examination of medical records. A DNA sample taken from her residence was then used to confirm the identity of the body.

At an early stage of the investigation, police had used the DNA analysis of the body parts to determine that the person was a woman.

Abe’s residence is located about 600 meters from the park.