HYOGO (TR) – A 36-year-old man in custody over the alleged murder of his girlfriend at her apartment in Himeji City over the weekend has told police that his intention was indeed to kill her, reports Fuji News Network (July 14).
On Sunday afternoon, Yuichi Yoshinao, a part-time employee, allegedly used a knife to stab Akane Taguchi, a 24-year-old company employee, in the abdomen. The victim was later confirmed dead at a hospital.
After carrying out the act, Yoshinao fled the scene. Police later apprehended him when he surrendered at a police station in Kyoto City. Hyogo Prefectural Police accused of murder early the following day.
“I stabbed her with a knife from the kitchen. I intended to kill,” he later told police in admitting to the allegations. Police found a blood-stained knife inside the residence.
“My mother is bleeding”
Taguchi shared the residence with her 6-year-old son. According to police, the incident took place in front of the boy. He tearfully told a female neighbor after rushing to her residence, “My mother is bleeding, she seems dead. Someone was angry.”
A male neighbor heard a commotion and went to Taguchi’s unit. When he opened her door, he found her collapsed on her back and bleeding from two wounds to the abdomen. The male neighbor then alerted emergency services.
Taguchi had previously accused Yoshinao of domestic violence. On June 9, she told police he had struck her in the face.
“We got into a bit of a quarrel over not going shopping and other things,” she told police at the time, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun (July 13). She withdrew the complaint six days later.
“We took the necessary measures according to the wishes of the victim,” a representative of the Hyogo Prefectural Police was quoted. “But it is unfortunate that we were unable to save her life as a result.”
