TOCHIGI (TR) – Tochigi Prefecture Police have arrested a 52-year-old man living a shut-in existence after the discovery of the body of his mother in their residence in Utsunomiya City, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Dec. 18).
Mamoru Handa allegedly left the corpse of his mother, 85-year-old Toshiko, at the residence between her death in late November and December 17.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of abandoning a corpse on December 18, Handa admitted to the allegations. “I didn’t know what to do,” the suspect told the Utsunomiya-Higashi Police Station.
According to police, the suspect suffers from the condition known as hikikomori, meaning a person who has withdrawn from society. He and his mother are receiving welfare.
On December 17, a case worker visited the residence and found the body of Toshiko. The body showed no signs of external wounds. However, she was emaciated.
Police are now seeking the cause of death.
