SHIZUOKA (TR) – A nationwide search is underway for a 27-year-old man who is suspected of fatally stabbing three family members at their residence in Kikugawa City on Sunday, reports NHK (July 29).
Shizuoka Prefectural Police on Monday released a photograph of Koichi Katayama, who was visiting the residence the day of the incident. But as of 6:00 p.m. on Monday his whereabouts were not known. He is wanted on suspicion of murder.
At around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, 87-year-old Shoichi Shibuya, his wife Ikuko, 81, and their second daughter Rumiko, 52, were found collapsed and bleeding near a bathroom at the residence, located in the Honjo area. All three were later confirmed dead at a hospital.
Four people lived in the residence, including a second daughter, who was out at the time of the incident.
Based on the circumstances at the scene, police believe that the suspect assaulted Ikuko by kicking her in the abdomen. He then stabbed Shibuya and the others in the abdomen with a kitchen knife.
“It’s just shocking”
Katayama is believed to have fled the scene on foot. Of medium build, he stands about 165 centimeters tall. He was wearing black clothing when he fled the scene, police said.
“I went to the same elementary school as the Rumiko,” a man in his 50s who works near the residence in Kikugawa tells NHK. “When I used to work at a gas station, her father would come to fill up his tank and talk to me in a friendly manner. It’s just shocking that a family I know has been involved in this incident.”
Persons with information on Katayama’s whereabouts are advised to call the Kikugawa Police Station at 0537-36-0110.
