At around 3 a.m. on October 16, Seiji Shibata, 20, allegedly broke into the apartment of a woman in her 30s after following her inside. He then attempted to sexually assault her while wielding a knife.
When she resisted, the suspect choked the woman with both hands. “I want you to stop,” she reportedly demanded. The suspect then fled the scene.
Shibata, who faces attempted murder and rape charges, partially denies the allegations, according to TV Asahi (Oct. 20). “I didn’t think about killing her,” he is quoted.
Shibata was recorded on security camera footage stalking the woman as she commuted home for about two kilometers, and he slipped into her apartment residence which features an auto-lock function.
The woman, who has never met Shibata before, told police she initially thought he was “someone who lived in the same apartment.”
