HIROSHIMA (TR) – Police have unearthed the heavily decomposed body of an unidentified man on company grounds in Mihara City, a discovery investigators suspect is linked to a previous killing, reports Fuji News Network (Apr. 30).
At around 11:40 a.m. on Tuesday, officers discovered the corpse buried in the dirt at a commercial property in the Nuta 2-chome area.
Police were led to the burial site after receiving a tip-off during the investigation of an entirely separate case. Due to the severe state of decomposition, the identity and age of the victim remain unknown.
Prefectural police are working to identify the body and will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
While officers are currently treating the incident as the abandonment of a corpse, authorities confirmed they are looking to expand the probe into a full-fledged murder investigation.
Higashihiroshima case
Investigators are now heavily scrutinizing the discovery for potential ties to the February murder of 49-year-old Kenichi Kawamoto, a male company executive, who was slain at a residence in neighboring Higashihiroshima City.
In the early hours of February 16, a fire broke out at Kawamoto’s home. Kawamoto was found dead in the backyard with a stab wound to the neck.
Kawamoto’s wife fled the scene but suffered injuries from smoke inhalation.
According to investigators, the wife told the prefectural police that “a man attacked me and set the house on fire.”
According to police, they received information that evidence related to this case might be buried on the company premises in Mihara.
The body in Mihara was buried deep underground and was excavated using heavy machinery.
