NIIGATA (TR) – Niigata Prefectural Police believe that a woman whose corpse was discovered in a forest in Tokamachi City last weekend had been bound as well as stabbed, reports the NHK (Aug. 14).
The body of the woman was found by a male off-road motorcyclist on a trail on the afternoon of August 11. In addition to receiving several stab wounds, including that from a knife found plunged in the back, she had also been bound with a rope, police said.
The results of an autopsy indicated that she had also suffered several bone fractures. She is believed to have died earlier this month, police said.
Believed to be in her 20s, she stood about 163 centimeters tall. She was clothed in a black sweater and light blue pants. She was not wearing shoes, police said.
Woman missing in Niigata City
Police have learned that a woman, aged in her 20s and living in Niigata City, has not been seen since the morning of August 1.
Niigata City is located about 100 kilometers from Tokamachi. Police are now investigating whether the two cases are related, according to Nippon News Network (Aug. 13).
In addition to murder, police are treating the case as abandoning a corpse.
Update: Police have confirmed that the body is that of Aimi Tani, a 24-year-old resident of Niigata City’s Chuo Ward, reports Fuji News Network (Aug. 14).
