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Saga: Man lived with corpse of wife in residence

SAGA (TR) – Saga Prefectural Police have arrested a 64-year-old man after the corpse of his wife was found in their residence in Taku City, reports the Saga Shimbun (Oct. 7).

At just before 11:00 a.m. on October 5, medical personnel working off a tip entered the residence and found the body of 63-year-old Yoko Nakajima collapsed face-up atop a bed in a room in the residence.

The body did not exhibit any signs of external wounds, according to the Ogi Police Station.

Police later arrested Toshiaki Nakajima on suspicion of abandoning a corpse. “My wife died at the end of September,” the suspect told police. “I knew it was wrong [to abandon her body].”

The suspect lived together with his wife in the residence. Prior to the discovery, the couple visited the city office to consult with officials about Yoko’s declining health. In the middle of last month, a city official and welfare officer visited the residence and recommended that Yoko be hospitalized.

A female neighbor, 81, told the paper that she saw Yoko collapsed in the room after peering through a window about two weeks ago. “Is she fine?” the neighbor asked Toshiaki. “Yes,” he said.

On the day of the discovery, a city official again visited the residence. Upon their arrival, Toshiaki explained that the condition of his wife “deteriorated over the past two or three days.” The official then contacted emergency services.