SAITAMA (TR) – Saitama Prefectural Police have arrested a 50-year-old man who is suspected of leaving the corpse of his wife in a rental space in Tokorozawa City for more than one decade, reports NHK (May 21).
Between mid-September 2011 and February 15, Hitoshi Hoya, of no known occupation, allegedly left the corpse of his wife, Miharu, inside a drum placed in the rented unit.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of abandoning a corpse on Wednesday, Hoya admitted to the allegations. He also hinted at murdering Miharu. He was sent to prosecutors on Thursday.
On April 18, an employee at a recycling company in Yoshikawa City alerted police about a body found in a sealed drum. The body later identified as being that of Miharu was covered in a blue tarp.
The day before, drum — measuring about 60 centimeters in diameter and 90 centimeters deep — was picked up by the recycling company in Tokorozawa at the request of the management company of the rental space due to unpaid fees.
Hoya lived with his wife in Tokorozawa in 2011. Police believe that Miharu died over the summer that year. That September, Hoya entered into an agreement with the rental space.
The cause of death is currently not known. Since police found external injuries on the body, the investigation is ongoing on suspicion of murder and injury resulting in death.
Police first arrested Hoya in Tokyo last month for violating the Road Traffic Act for driving a vehicle that had not undergone appropriate inspections.
The statute of limitations on abandoning a corpse is three years. However, police applied such charges under the view that the abandonment continued until February of this year, when he was still able to open the door to the space.
