OSAKA (TR) – A 41-year-old man on death row for murdering two university students died at the Osaka Detention House on Saturday in an apparent suicide, reports Nippon News Network.
According to Osaka Detention House, a staff member attempted to wake up Ryuji Kobayashi in his cell at around 7:50 a.m. When he did not respond, the staff member opened the door and found him collapsed with a futon cover tied around his neck.
Kobayashi was later confirmed dead at a hospital. He is believed to have taken his own life.
In 2006, Kobayashi assaulted the two university students before burying them alive at a garbage dump in Okayama Prefecture.
The final Supreme Court ruling, handed down in 2011, said Kobayashi played a leading role in orchestrating the assault of the two men, who had a dispute with his friend.
A representative of the Osaka Detention House commented on Kobayashi’s death, “We deeply regret the death of an inmate. We will strive to prevent this from happening again.”
