MIE (TR) – Mie Prefectural Police are investigating what is believed to have been a murder-suicide following the discovery last week of the bodies of an elderly man in his residence in Suzuka City and those of his wife and son inside a vehicle, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (Dec. 20).
At around 9:00 a.m. on December 20, the daughter of the 72-year-old man tipped off police after finding him collapsed beneath a futon on a bed in the residence, located in the Kobe area.
The man had suffered serious blows to the head, according to the Suzuka Police Station.
About two hours later, the bodies of his wife, 71, and eldest son, 45, of no known occupation, were found inside a vehicle a vehicle parked on vacant land in the Minami Wakamatsucho area of the city.
The woman was found in the passenger seat with a sheet over her. Her son also had a sheet over him in the driver’s seat. They were both confirmed dead at the scene, police said.
Charcoal briquettes
Police also found burned charcoal briquettes in the trunk of the vehicle. The inhalation of carbon monoxide fumes released by such briquettes is a common means of suicide.
Following a stroke by the man, his wife and son served as his nurses, police said.
The results of autopsies scheduled for December 22 were to be used to determine the causes of death. However, police believe that the man died due to some unspecified means prior to the woman and son intentionally taking their lives.