TOKYO (TR) – Eight years ago, a 29-year-old woman was found murdered in an apartment in the Roppongi entertainment quarter of Minato Ward. After the incident, the male occupant of the unit fled to Malaysia.
Police later listed Nobuaki Takahashi, 47, as wanted for murder. On Saturday, Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested Takahashi after he arrived at Narita International Airport.
“I have nothing to say at this time,” he said in the denying the allegations, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Apr. 25).
On the afternoon of October 18, 2018, police officers working off a tip arrived at a fourth-floor residence in the Roppongi area and found a woman’s decayed body — later identified as belonging to Japanese-American Aisha Kumi Balletta — wrapped in a sheet at the side of a bed.
Takahashi is alleged to have killed Balletta by repeatedly striking her in the head with a blunt object.
According to police, the results of an autopsy revealed that Balletta died due to brain damage as a result of a skull fracture. Her body was found to have several injuries to the face and head.
During the investigation, a bloodstained dumbbell was found at the scene. Security camera footage showed Balletta entering the apartment building with the suspect about a week before her body was discovered. However, the suspect then left the building alone and departed for Malaysia the following day.
After the discovery, Tokyo police obtained an arrest warrant for Takahashi on suspicion of murder and issued an international arrest warrant through Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization).
In June of last year, authorities in Malaysia contacted police to state that they had located and apprehended Takahashi. On Saturday, the suspect was transferred to Narita International Airport and arrested by police.
According to investigative sources, three months prior to the incident, the suspect was arrested on suspicion of injuring Balletta by beating her, but he was not indicted. Tokyo police are investigating the details of that case.
“Time has stood still for our family”
The mother of Balletta issued a statement through her lawyer. She wrote, “For seven and a half years since the incident, time has stood still for our family. I am once again deeply saddened by the reality that my daughter will not be coming back. For seven and a half years, I have longed to see my daughter, who was kind, hardworking and devoted to her family, every day, while at the same time harboring anger and hatred towards the suspect.”
News reports from eight years ago said that Takahashi and Balletta were in a relationship. However, her mother says that is not correct.
She continued, “My daughter was not in a ‘relationship’ with the suspect; she was a victim who was controlled by him, suffering from fear through threats, surveillance and violence. She tried to escape from the suspect many times, but was threatened with harm to her family, and gradually became emaciated and her expression changed. I strongly hope that the truth will be revealed in the upcoming trial and that the death penalty will be imposed for the sake of my daughter’s honor.”
