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Chiba: 2 men, 1 woman, 1 teenage girl suspected of murder, arson lived in van

Junya Nakauchi
Junya Nakauchi (Twitter)

CHIBA (TR) – Investigative sources with the Chiba Prefectural Police have revealed that two men, a woman and a teenage girl arrested after a charred corpse was found in a burned-out residence in Inzai City were living inside a vehicle, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Feb. 19).

On Sunday, police apprehended Junya Nakauchi (20), a resident of Tokyo’s Sumida Ward, Taiga Kanazaki (20), a resident of Inzai, Miku Sugano (20), of no known residence, and a 16-year-old girl inside their van in a parking lot Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The following day, police accused the four persons of murder and arson.

On Saturday night, the four allegedly conspired to set fire to a wooden bungalow located in the Ryufukuji area of Inzai. After the blaze was extinguished, a body of unknown gender was found in the ruins.

Yoshiko Ebihara lives in the residence. Since police have not been able to contact her, it is believed that she is the victim. The results of an autopsy revealed that soot was found in the lungs of the body, with death by fire being given as the cause of death.

This month, the four suspects lived in the van, and they have also experienced problems with money, police said.

Police have not divulged whether the suspects admit to the allegations, but it has been learned that Sugano is an acquaintance of Ebihara.

According to TBS News (Feb. 19), neighbors saw several young people in a white van parked in front of the bungalow about two weeks before the incident.

“A kind person”

According to the grandfather of Kanazaki, the suspect was employed part-time in Gunma Prefecture until last month. He then dropped out of contact with his family. Police later located Kanazaki, but he told them that he did not want to return home.

“My grandchild is a kind person, so it’s unbelievable that he got involved in such an incident,” the grandfather is quoted by NHK (Feb. 20). “The police should have taken custody of him when they found him.”