HYOGO (TR) – A missing high school girl and a 33-year-old man were found inside his residence in Kato City earlier this week, a case that is being treated as murder-suicide, police said, reports TV Asahi (Nov. 22).
On Tuesday night, officers working off a tip found the girl, a second-year student, dead inside a bathrooom, of the residence, located in the Shimotakino area. A vinyl cord was found dropped nearby.
Meanwhile, officers found Kenta Ueda, a part-time employee, hanged by an electrical cable inside a closet.
The results of autopsies conducted on the bodies revealed that the girl died as a result of suffocation due to pressure applied to the neck on Sunday night. The man died the following morning.
On Sunday morning, the girl exited her residence. Her family alerted the Tamba Police Station after she did not return the following day.
An examination of security camera footage seemed to show the girl with Ueda at a railway station near the residence. Police then entered the residence on suspicion of kidnapping of a minor.
The girl also met Ueda on three days in August, police said.
With the entrance and windows of the residence showed no signs of forced entry by an intruder, police believe Ueda strangled the girl before taking his own life.
