OKAYAMA (TR) – Okayama Prefectural Police have arrested an 84-year-old man for allegedly leaving the corpse of an elderly woman on a road in Mimasaka City on Wednesday, reports TBS News (Apr. 5).
On around Wednesday, Yukio Kobayashi, a farmer, allegedly left the body of Hideko Matsumoto, 96, wrapped in a plastic sheet on a road near his residence in the Obusa area.
“I thought she had fallen ill, so I wrapped her in a sheet,” the suspect was quoted by the Mimasaka Police Station in denying the allegations.
According to police, the clothes of Matsumoto had not been disturbed but her body exhibited signs of external wounds.
Matsumoto lived at a residence nearby with four other family members. Her family last saw her on a walkway near their residence on Wednesday morning. She was reported missing that night.
At around 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, police found Matsumoto’s body on the road near the north end of Kobayashi’s property.
Meanwhile, Kobayashi, who is an acquaintance of Matsumoto, lives with his wife. Based on information provided near the crime scene, officers began investigating Kobayashi.
“It’s shocking,” his wife was quoted. “I feel like my life is over.”
Police are investigating whether to change the charges against Kobayashi to murder.
