TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 28-year-old delivery man for the Asahi Shimbun newspaper for allegedly attempting to murder a teenage girl he became acquainted with via social media after she expressed an interest in committing suicide, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Jan. 3).
On Tuesday, Kazunari Saito lured the girl to his dormitory in Hachioji City and attempted to strangle her with rope. He then sexually assaulted her.
Early the following day, the girl fled the dormitory after the suspect went to work. The matter emerged after she alerted a member of her family.
Saito, who has been accused of abduction, attempted murder and coerced intercourse, admits to the allegations. “She said she wanted to be killed,” the suspect was quoted by police.
According to police, the suspect contacted the girl in late December after she indicated via Twitter that she wanted to take her life.
Zama killings
Last year, Tokyo police arrested Takahiro Shiraishi after nine dismembered corpses were found in ice chests inside his residence in Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Shiraishi later admitted to having strangled all of the victims, whom he became acquainted with after they expressed an interest via Twitter in committing suicide.
A representative of the Asahi Shimbun Co., which prints the Asahi Shimbun, said that the arrest of Saito is being taken seriously.
