CHIBA (TR) – Chiba Prefectural Police revealed last week that a man in custody over an arson attack in Kashiwa City last year has been further accused of murder.
At just after 6:00 p.m. on December 18, Kaoru Sakamaki, 77, allegedly stabbed and killed Reiko Torai, 59, with a knife at her house in the Takayanagi area, reports the Chiba Shimbun (Feb. 5).
Police did not reveal whether Sakamaki admits to the allegations.
As previously reported, a neighbor found Toshiaki Watarai, also 59, and Reiko collapsed inside their residence on the night of December 18.
Toshiaki had suffered a stab wound to the abdomen. Meanwhile, Reiko received a wound to the chest. Both were later confirmed dead at a hospital. The results of autopsies conducted on December 20 revealed that the cause of death of both Watarai and his wife was hemorrhagic shock, police said previously.
“There’s nothing” About 10 minutes after the discovery of the collapsed couple, a fire broke out about 600 meters from the crime scene. It destroyed Sakamaki’s house and seven other residential buildings.
Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Sakamaki on suspicion of arson on December 19. That night, police following up on a tip about a suspicious vehicle parked on a road in Inzai City — about 30 kilometers away — located Sakamaki.
At the time, burns covered Sakamaki’s lower body. Officers later escorted him to a hospital for treatment. The following night, police accused him of obstruction of official duties after he allegedly attempted to flee police officers. He was subsequently accused of arson.
Sakamaki did not cooperate with questioning on these first two charges, giving vague answers. He said, “There’s nothing.” He also said, “I don’t know.”
Watarai ran a real-estate related business. Prior to incident, Sakamaki had requested a property appraisal the company. Police believed that the attack could been motivated by the suspect’s dissatisfaction with the appraisal.
