AKITA (TR) – Akita Prefectural Police have arrested two brothers who are believed to have lived with the corpse of their mother in Yurihonjo City since late last year, reports NHK (Aug. 27).
According to police, the suspects are Sumsumu Kikuchi, 53, of no known occupation, and his brother, 51-year-old Akira, a company employee.
They are suspected of living with the body of their mother, 78-year-old Yukiko, at their residence in the Sorimachi area since around last December.
Upon their arrests on suspicion of abandoning a corpse early Thursday,
both suspects admitted to the allegations, the Yurihonjo Police Station said.
The suspects share the residence with their mother. On Wednesday, a staff member of a community support center connected to the city contacted police. “We haven’t been in touch with Yukiko since December,” a staffer said.
Police then visited the residence and found the body inside a first-floor room.
In addition to seeking the cause of death and confirming the identity of the body, police are investigating whether the suspects had misappropriated pension payments intended for Yukiko.
