HUNGARY (TR) – A Japanese woman died in a fire in her apartment in the capital Budapest last month. Local police have arrested her ex-husband on suspicion of murder, reports TV Asahi (Feb. 4).
According to local police, a fire broke out on January 29 in a third-floor apartment in central Budapest, where the Japanese woman, 43, and her two children live.
Her ex-husband, a 43-year-old Irish national, was at the scene and called the police. Firefighters rushed to the residence and extinguished the fire. The woman’s body was found inside the apartment.
The two children were at school at the time of the fire and were safe.
An autopsy conducted on the same day concluded that there was no evidence of foul play. As well, testimony from the ex-husband indicated that it was an accidental fire caused by smoking in bed.
However, a women’s rights organisation urged law enforcement to conduct an investigation since the woman asked for help in 2023. She also had reported her ex-husband’s threatening behavior to police but was ignored. As well, she was not a smoker.
Police then analyzed security cameras around the scene on the day of the fire and found that her ex-husband had changed his appearance over the course of the day.
According to site Extra.ie, the ex-husband was seen leaving the apartment with the children in the morning. When he returned, he was wearing different clothes and had a balaclava over his face.
Further, a second autopsy on the body of the woman revealed signs of abuse.
In response to this, a special police unit detained the ex-husband on the night of February 3 and arrested him on suspicion of murder.
The ex-husband denies the charges.
According to local media, the woman had been threatened multiple times by her ex-husband, including him saying he would kill her. She had consulted the police.
She had also reportedly consulted with support groups about returning to Japan with her children.
