HYOGO (TR) – Hyogo Prefectural Police here are investigating whether a male corpse discovered in a river on Wednesday is the suspect wanted nationwide in connection with a double-murder, reports Nippon News Network (June 3).
At around 10:30 a.m., a passerby spotted the body of an adult male floating in a river in Tatsuno City.
According to police, the deceased had been dead for several days but showed no noticeable external injuries. Crucially, the body was clad in a grayish t-shirt and black pants with a distinct white stripe.
Authorities strongly suspect the remains belong to Kenji Oyama, a former neighbor placed on a nationwide wanted list for last month’s murder of a parent and child in the city, specifically over the killing of the daughter, Chihiro Tanaka.
The clothing found on the corpse closely matches the last known sightings of the fugitive. Security camera footage taken roughly two kilometers from the crime scene the day after the murders captured a man resembling Oyama wearing a green long-sleeved shirt and the same black pants with a white stripe.
In the footage, the man can be seen walking slowly, returning along the same path about 30 minutes later while casting suspicious glances at people working in nearby fields. Later that same evening, a man in identical clothing was seen sitting under a bridge spanning the river.
Investigative sources believe Oyama may have been camping out or hiding near the bridge for several days following the killings.
One local witness recalled seeing a man matching Oyama’s description loitering along the riverbank. “He was moving very slowly, constantly looking down as if he were searching for a dropped item, and only occasionally looking up,” the witness said.
Police have scheduled a judicial autopsy to officially confirm the identity of the body and determine the exact cause of death.
