HYOGO (TR) – A 45-year-old man serving a life-in-prison term for the murder of an elementary school girl in Okayama Prefecture two decades ago was arrested last week for the murder of another girl, reports Jiji Press (Nov. 29).
In the latest case, Kunihiko Katsuta is alleged to have used a knife to fatally stab Yuzuki Unose, second-grade elementary school, then aged 7, in the abdomen and other parts of her body near the entrance of her home in Kakogawa City at around 6:00 p.m. on October 16, 2007.
Police arrested Katsuta on suspicion of murder on November 27. When asked to comment on the allegations, Katsuta chose to remain silent, police said.
“I brought a change of clothes with me”
According to investigators, the Hyogo police have been voluntarily questioning Katsuta since May. He is currently serving a life term for the murder of the first girl, aged 9, in Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture in 2004.
Though he has remained silent following his re-arrest, he admitted to his involvement in the Kakogawa incident during voluntary questioning. “I brought a change of clothes with me so that it would not be assumed that I was the same person going to and from the crime scene,” he said.
The suspect was living with his parents about five kilometers away from the crime scene at the time. He is believed to used a bicycle to get there. He also reportedly explained that he had “scouted the area around the crime scene in advance,” leading prefectural police to believe that he carefully planned the attack and targeted a girl he did not know.
Thus far, police have tied Katsuta to three cases.
Earlier this month, police arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder in the stabbing of a third girl.
At around 6:20 p.m. on September 28, 2006, Katsuta is alleged to have repeatedly stabbed the third girl, aged 9, with a knife and seriously injured her in Tatsuno City. The girl suffered serious injuries that took two months to heal, police said previously.
