CHIBA (TR) – A 47-year-old man in custody in connection with the disappearance of his wife earlier this year has been further accused of her murder, police have revealed, reports NHK (Dec. 4).
On December 4, police accused Akira Ono, a company employee, of fatally stabbing his wife, 32-year-old Rina. During questioning, he denied the allegations, which contradicts previous statements he’s made.
Rina’s whereabouts became unknown after she left her company in Narita City on March 6. Thereafter, investigators found her vehicle parked at a park in Narita.
In October, police first arrested Ono for fraudulently using his wife’s name for the registration document for a vehicle he purchased for himself in January.
During questioning, Ono said, “I stabbed her in my car and buried her at the beach.”
Body not found
The beach is in Hokota City, Ibaraki. Investigators searched a more than 15-kilometer-long stretch of beach between Hokota and Kashima cities between June and October. However, a body was not found.
On November 13, police accused Ono of abandoning the body of Rina. Police believe that Ono transported the body of his wife from Chiba to the beach on March 6 and 7.
Also in November, police also revealed that security camera footage showed Ono to have used one of the vehicles to travel between Narita and the Hokota area on the night Rina disappeared.
Separated for more than two years
Ono, a resident of Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, and Rina have been separated for more than two years. She lives in Inzai City, Chiba.
The couple has one child. When Rina disappeared, she and Ono were believed to have been fighting over custody of the child.
During a search of his residence, police found Rina’s driver’s license, a knife and hair smeared with blood later confirmed to be hers.
The couple have a total of three vehicles. Stains of Rina’s blood were found inside one of them. Police also found signs of blood having been wiped up.
Based on the movements of his vehicle and the discovery of Rina’s bloodstains on the knife and in the car, police believe Ono stabbed his wife with the knife before dumping her body.
“I thought that I [would have custody of] my child if my wife were gone. I wanted to talk [to her] about custody. I had no choice but to kill,” he reportedly said at an early stage in the investigation, according to TBS News (Dec. 4).
