HYOGO (TR) – The body of 6-year-old Nao Hosaka was discovered inside a suitcase dumped in Kobe City in June of last year.
The following month, the boy’s uncle, Daichi Hosaka, 33, his mother, Saki, and two twin aunts who lived with him were accused of abandoning a corpse. They were later accused of murder.
According to police, the four siblings beat Nao repeatedly with a metal pipe at their home on June 19, 2023. They then climbed on his back and stomped on him multiple times with both feet, causing his death.
An examination of Nao’s body revealed numerous bruises across his back. The cause of death was likely traumatic shock, police said last year.
Based on news reports, Daichi was a commander of violence in the house after he moved into the residence in December 2022.
To this point, it is a horrid tale to be sure. But, unfortunately, it does not end there. The newest allegations reveal that Daichi’s apparent motive was romantic feelings for Saki, which police have learned he expressed through a sexual assault.
Detained in a closet
The four siblings, the 6-year-old boy and his grandmother lived in the same residence in Nishi Ward. The body of Nao was found in a suitcase in a grassy area near the residence on June 22, 2023.
The story surfaced two days before, when a passerby found the boy’s grandmother, Yumiko Hosaka, then 54, on a street with bruises. The fifth occupant of the residence, she had just escaped from the home after being detained in a closet for about three months.
Her children, including Saki, Daichi and twins Tomomi Hosaka and Asaka Hosaka, had beaten her with a steel pipe, police said at the time.
Later, Saki took police to the grassy area. The boy’s body was inside the suitcase. He had suffered bruising to his back. An examination of security camera footage showed the four siblings going out with a suitcase.
The four siblings were initially arrested June 22 of that year on suspicion of injuring and confining Yumiko between March and June.
On July 13, they were rearrested on suspicion of abandoning a corpse. Ten days later, they were further accused of murder.
The results of an autopsy revealed that Nao had died around June 19.
Using testimony from Yumiko, police determined Daichi instructed the other family members to arrange for the suitcase so that it could be used to dump the boy’s body.
Evaluation by an expert
After those arrests, the prosecution placed the siblings in detention for evaluation by an expert for about eight months. After the evaluation, it was concluded that they could be tried in criminal court.
In April of this year, the four siblings were indicted on charges of assault resulting in death and abandoning a corpse. However, Daichi’s charges did not stop there.
“On June 25, the prefectural police re-arrested Daichi on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse and indecent assault against his sister [Saki] and others [his sisters],” a local news reporter tells Gendai Business (Jul. 9). “Daichi is accused of threatening his three sisters and committing indecent acts against them between the evening of the day he abandoned Nao’s body and the following morning.”
In other words, Daichi orchestrated the dumping of the boy of his nephew and sexually assaulted his sisters over the span of a single day.
“The turning point in the incident is said to have been Daichi’s birthday in May,” an investigator says, “which was not long before the incident. He was enraged that his family did not celebrate with him, and declared to his siblings that ‘June will be a month of hell.’ His target was Nao, the weakest member of the family.”
Daichi denies the latest allegations.
“But he has also admitted that he has romantic feelings for his sister,” continues the aforementioned investigative source. “It is highly likely that he committed the crime out of jealousy after seeing [Saki] taking care of Nao.”
On September 3, police added fresh charges to Daichi over the alleged assault resulting in injury to Saki and others with the metal pipe.
On June 18, 2023 he is alleged to have struck Saki multiple times with the metal pipe at the home and threatened her with a kitchen knife. He also struck his twin aunts and grandmother with a rubber spatula and other objects, injuring each of them.
According to police, he threatened Saki, saying, “Are you prepared to die?” As he said this, he pointed a kitchen knife at her back. Police believe that Daichi was a daily abuser of his family and controlled them, according to the Sankei Shimbun (Sep. 9).
Daichi denies the latest charges. “Everything written [in the arrest warrant] is a misunderstanding. It’s a lie,” he said.
“I can’t go inside”
There were signs of trouble before June 2023. From February, Nao began not attending day care. As well, staff members at the facility found multiple bruises on his buttocks and shoulder two months later.
In May, neighbors found Nao on the balcony. “Help, I can’t go inside,” he said.
The day care contacted Kobe City about the case being possible child abuse. However, when municipal officials visited the home, Saki and Yumiko denied knowing where the bruises came from.
Officials returned to the residence on May 1. At that time, the bruises had healed, which caused the officials to believe that there was no imminent threat to the boy.
However, Saki told the officials that raising Nao was difficult. She then asked them if they could temporarily take the child into custody.
Kobe City’s children’s welfare center made preparations to take custody of Nao the day. However, Yumiko said they were capable of raising the child when officials visited.
