NIIGATA (TR) – Niigata Prefectural Police are searching for a 20-year-old man after the discovery of the body of his mother inside the residence they share in Gosen City, reports TBS News (Feb. 10).
At about 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, an officer from the Gosen Police Station found the nude body of Noriko Oyanagi, a 52-year-old company employee, lying face-down in a water-filled bathtub of the residence.
The woman’s head showed signs of having been hit in the head with a heavy object. She was confirmed dead at the scene.
The house showed no signs of having been ransacked. A passenger vehicle belonging to Oyanagi was missing from the premises.
Police were alerted to the scene after being contacted by the boss of Oyanagi, who had failed to show up for work since Tuesday.
Police will use the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Oyanagi shared the residence with her son, whose whereabouts are sought in what is being considered as a murder case.
