TOKYO (TR) – Prosecutors have announced the non-prosecution of a 39-year-old man for allegedly beating his girlfriend to death in Setagaya Ward two years ago, reports TBS News (Nov. 19).
At around 4:00 p.m. on November 6, 2018, Yuta Yamamoto, of no known occupation, was alleged to have fatally beaten Hitomi Kamada, then 37, with nunchucks, a martial arts weapon, at his residence.
The results of an autopsy revealed that Kamada likely died due to suffocation caused by blood flowing from a wound in her head.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of murder this past August, Yamamoto denied the allegations. “I didn’t commit murder,” the suspect was quoted by the Seijo Police Station.
On Wednesday, prosecutors announced that the charge against Yamamoto had been changed to manslaughter and that he would not be prosecuted.
No reason for the decisions was given. However, a source said that the Tokyo District Court used the Medical Treatment and Supervision Act to request hospitalization for Yamamoto due to dementia.
Blood coming from her forehead
After the incident, Yamamoto left the residence. Upon his return, several hours later, he alerted police. “[Kamada] drank alcohol and collapsed,” he reportedly said.
Officers arriving at the residence found her collapsed face-up on a carpet with blood coming from her forehead. She was confirmed dead at the scene.
Two days before the incident, Kamada began staying at the residence. An examination of the interior by police after the incident resulted in the discovery of the nunchucks.
Kamada’s forehead had a 2-centimeter-long wound that matched the shape of the nunchakus. No fingerprints other than those of the suspect were found on the weapon, police said previously.
