AKITA (TR) – Police here have launched a murder investigation after discovering an elderly woman was strangled to death days before a residential fire that also claimed the life of her husband, reports Akita TV (June 30).
On Sunday morning, a blaze completely destroyed a wooden, two-story home in the Tenno area of Katagami City. The 76-year-old wife was discovered dead in the ashes, while her 77-year-old husband was rushed to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
However, an autopsy has revealed a grisly timeline indicating the incident was not a simple tragic accident.
Police determined the wife’s cause of death to be suspected neck compression, indicating she was strangled. Investigators believe she was killed between June 23 and 26 — several days before the fire broke out.
Meanwhile, the husband’s cause of death was determined to be from the fire itself, with his time of death estimated between June 27 and 28. Further deepening the mystery, investigators found knife wounds on the husband’s neck and recovered a bloodied kitchen knife nearby.
The couple, who lived alone, was found in their first-floor bedroom. The wife was lying on the bed, while her husband was found slumped against the side of it.
Neighbors suggest the tragedy may be linked to declining health. “The wife had been ill and had bad days. I happened to hear she was going to the hospital on June 23,” one local resident told reporters.
Despite the grim circumstances inside the home, the husband apparently kept up appearances. Another neighbor who spoke with the man at his front entrance on Saturday, the day before the fire, remarked, “He didn’t seem any different than usual.”
Police entered the charred remains of the property at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday to conduct an on-site inspection. Authorities are proceeding with a murder investigation, cautiously looking into the strong possibility of a murder-suicide.
