TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 46-year-old man from Saitama Prefecture who after finding the body of his mother in her residence last year attempted to withdraw money from her account, reports the Sankei Shimbun (June 30).
Last August 10, Takahiro Fujiwara, an employee in the construction industry, entered the residence of his mother, 83-year-old Masako, in Suginami Ward by breaking a window and found her collapsed inside.
After confirming she was dead, he left behind deodorants before fleeing the scene. He told a neighbor, “My mother is in the hospital,” according to the Takaido Police Station.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of abandoning a corpse on Tuesday, Fujiwara, who lives separately in Saitama City, admitted to the allegations. “I was shocked so I fled,” the suspect was quoted by police.
Masako began living alone in 2013. Sometime before Fujiwara entered the residence, his mother told a neighbor, “I vomited blood so I will have my son take me to the hospital.”
After he visited the residence on August 10, he had another woman living nearby pose as his mother to withdraw money from his mother’s bank account. However, it was unsuccessful, according to TV Asahi (July 1).
A neighbor later observed a foul smell coming from the unit. Using a duplicate key, the neighbor entered and found Masako dead atop a futon.
The body exhibited no external wounds. Police believe she died due to heat stroke.
