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Chiba: Woman accused in arson attack that killed elderly woman told acquaintance kerosene was used

Miku Sugano
Miku Sugano (Twitter)

CHIBA (TR) – Investigative sources with the Chiba Prefectural Police have revealed that one of the four persons arrested after a charred corpse was found in a burned-out residence in Inzai City told an acquaintance after the incident that a flammable liquid was sprayed inside beforehand, reports TBS News (Feb. 21).

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.

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, the body of Yoshiko Ebihara, the resident of the bungalow, was found in the ruins.

The results of an autopsy revealed that soot was found in the lungs of Ebihara, with death by fire being given as the cause of death.

According to the sources, the suspects, who have been accused of murder and arson, generally admit to beating Ebihara and setting her residence ablaze. It is believed that they experienced money problems with the victim.

“Freeloading grandma”

In the latest development, police said that Sugano, who was a friend of Ebihara, told a male acquaintance via telephone after the incident that the crime took place unexpectedly. “Kerosene was spread around, and it was set afire,” she reportedly said.

She also told a female acquaintance that they had killed a person, while in a separate statement referring to Ebihara as “freeloading grandma.”

Via the smartphone application Line, the same suspect told another male acquaintance that the crime was the work of one person, though that person was not identified. “Nobody else was involved,” she wrote.