GUNMA (TR) – Gunma Prefectural Police last week launched a murder investigation after an 87-year-old female resident of a nursing home in Fujioka City who was found collapsed and bleeding from her head later died.
At around 5 a.m. on the on September 9, a staff member on patrol at Fujinoen found Takeko Arai, an 87-year-old resident, lying on her back and bleeding from her head in front of a toilet opposite her room.
Arai was later confirmed dead at a hospital, police said, according to Nippon News Network (Sep. 11).
The results of an autopsy revealed that the cause of death was traumatic shock caused by a strong blow to the head.
Fujinoen has 20 to 30 residents, and the only staff member working there at the time was the one who discovered Arai. It is a tranquil area of rice fields, located about 4 kilometers from Gunma Fujioka Station.
“I heard it was quite popular and it was hard to get in,” a person in the area tells the network. “When the cherry blossoms were in bloom, I saw some old ladies outside enjoying cherry blossom viewing with staff. It didn’t look like the kind of place where [an incident] would happen.”
Arai entered the facility about two years ago and experienced no prior troubles. The murder weapon is unknown, but since there was no sign of a third party breaking into the facility at the time, police are investigating the possibility that the crime may have been committed by another resident.
