NIIGATA (TR) – A man in custody in connection with the death of his brother moved his corpse twice before it was found in a residence in Kashiwazaki City last month, it has been learned.
On Thursday, prosecutors indicted Kazuo Sato, 48, on suspicion of abandoning the corpse of his brother inside the residence. The defendant admits to the allegations, reports Niigata Nippo (Nov. 12).
According to the indictment, Yuichi Sato died around March 2011 at the age of 39. At the time, the defendant and his brother were living together in Kashiwazaki.
Around November 30 of that year, Sato moved to another residence, taking the body of his brother with him. He also brought the corpse with him when he moved a second time.
Sato left the third residence, located about 2 kilometers from JR Kashiwazaki Station, this past March. However, this time he left the body behind.
Seven different locations
On October 19, police entered that residence after learning from its management company that Sato had dropped out of contact.
Officers then found pieces of what was later confirmed as Yuichi’s body in a total of seven different locations of the residence.
Police later learned that rent payments for the unit had been in arrears since March. The owner of the unit told media outlets that the management company called police after noticing a “foul smell” coming from inside.
Sato currently lives in Tokyo. After the discovery made headlines nationwide, he arrived at the Ikebukuro Police Station with an acquaintance on the morning of October 22.
Cause of death unknown
During police questioning, Sato hinted at killing his brother and dismembering the body.
However, such information is not contained in the indictment. In fact, the document says that Sato claims to have not carried out a killing.
Additionally, police were unable to determine the cause of death. One reason was the fact that there was no noticeable trauma evident on the body.
Police are continuing the investigation to learn the circumstances that led to the death of Yuichi.
