GUNMA (TR) – Gunma Prefectural Police have arrested a 42-year-old man who turned himself in and confessed to strangling his two young children to death inside their Isesaki City home, reports Nippon News Network (July 7).
Toshinori Inoue, a supermarket employee, was arrested on suspicion of murder following the deaths of his 6-year-old daughter, Akari, and his 3-year-old son, Shuri.
The grisly discovery was made at around 8:00 p.m. on Sunday. The children’s mother, returning home from work, found the siblings unresponsive on a futon in a second-floor bedroom. She immediately contacted emergency services in a panic, reporting, “My children are collapsed.”
Police and ambulance crews rushed to the quiet residential neighborhood, but both children were pronounced dead at the scene. While neither child showed obvious signs of external trauma, investigators found distinct ligature marks on their necks. Multiple neckties were discovered scattered near Akari’s body.
Suspect missing
At the time of the discovery, Inoue was missing. The mother told responding officers she could not locate or contact her husband.
However, a short time later, Inoue drove himself to a local police station. When approached by officers, he bluntly stated, “I killed my children.”
During questioning, Inoue fully admitted to the allegations. “I strangled my daughter and son to death,” he told investigators. “I strangled them with things like a necktie.”
He is currently formally charged with the murder of his daughter, though he has admitted to killing his son as well. He reportedly had the day off from work when the killings took place.
“Completely normal”
The brutal crime has left the local community reeling, as neighbors painted a picture of a peaceful family. Residents described Inoue as a “completely normal” and “gentle” father who was frequently seen playing with his children at a nearby park.
Akari, who had just entered the first grade of elementary school in April, was known by neighbors as a bright and energetic girl who had taken a keen interest in the traditional board game Go.
According to police, there was no prior record of domestic trouble or child welfare consultations involving the household. Authorities are scheduled to conduct an autopsy on Thursday to officially confirm the cause of death as they work to uncover a motive behind the shocking double murder.
