HUNGARY (TR) – Last week, police in Budapest arrested a 43-year-old male Irishman on suspicion of murdering his Japanese former wife.
A female acquaintance of the victim tells TBS News (Feb 12) that the husband had been reported to police for violent behavior in the past. However, they failed to take action.
“She was worried that the police wouldn’t act unless she was covered in blood,” the acquaintance said.
As previously reported, a fire broke out on January 29 in a third-floor apartment in central Budapest, where the Japanese woman, 43, and her two children live.
Her ex-husband, a 43-year-old Irish national, was at the scene and called the police. Firefighters rushed to the residence and extinguished the fire. The woman’s body was found inside the apartment.
The two children were at school at the time of the fire.
An autopsy conducted on the same day concluded that there was no evidence of foul play. However, an investigation was opened at the urging of other parties.
Police then analyzed security cameras around the scene on the day of the fire and found that her ex-husband had changed his appearance over the course of the day.
Further, a second autopsy on the body of the woman revealed signs of abuse.
The woman was routinely abused by her former husband and had consulted the police twice, but reportedly told a female acquaintance, “They’re not doing anything.”
On Tuesday, Hungarian police apologized for their lack of response. “We made a mistake,” a police representative said.
They also announced that they had taken disciplinary action against six people, including police station staff who had dealt with her case.
The woman had also consulted the local Japanese embassy about domestic violence, but her lawyer claims that “they did not help her,” according to TV Asahi (Feb. 11).
