FUKUOKA (TR) – Police in Fukuoka City arrested a 36-year-old woman on Thursday for allegedly stabbing a female friend to death inside an apartment.
According to police, the victim’s three young children slept in another room while the incident unfolded, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (June 18).
Shiori Fujimoto, a self-proclaimed resident of Jonan Ward whose occupation is unknown, was initially arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder. The Higashi Police Station is now upgrading the charge to murder after the 33-year-old victim was confirmed dead shortly after arriving at a local hospital.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 3:15 a.m. inside the victim’s municipal housing apartment in Higashi Ward. Fujimoto is accused of attacking the victim with lethal intent, stabbing her multiple times in the neck and chest with a knife-like object.
The suspect herself called police, telling the dispatcher, “I stabbed her. We were fighting.”
When officers rushed to the scene, they found the victim collapsed on her bed in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest. A knife believed to be the murder weapon was recovered from the bedroom.
Fujimoto has admitted to the allegations, telling investigators, “I stabbed her many times.”
“I was so surprised”
During the violent altercation, the victim’s three elementary school-aged children were sleeping in a separate room, police said.
Authorities noted that Fujimoto was found with a shallow cut on her abdomen, which investigators believe was a self-inflicted wound.
A police cordon restricted access to the municipal housing complex on the morning of the 18th as investigators combed the scene.
“I woke up just past 3 a.m. to the sound of police sirens,” a 60-year-old female resident told reporters. “An ambulance arrived shortly after. I was so surprised.”
