KANAGAWA (TR) – A 43-year-old man in custody on suspicion of rape has been accused in a second case in which he allegedly strangled a woman in Yokohama last year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Jan. 9).
At around 11:00 p.m. on August 4, Satoru Washio, a company employee, came up behind the woman, a 21-year-old college student, as she commuted home on a road in Tsuzuki Ward. He then allegedly strangled her around the neck with a plastic cord.
After the woman screamed, Washio fled the scene. Police believe that the motive for the crime was sexual assault.
Washio, who has been accused of attempted murder, partially denies the allegations. “I did not have the intention to kill,” the suspect was quoted by police.
Washio emerged as a person of interest in the case after an examination of security camera footage taken in the area.
In November, police first arrested Washio for trespassing into the residence of a 25-year-old woman and sexually assaulting her.
