KYOTO (TR) – Kyoto Prefectural Police have arrested a 20-year-old man over the alleged fatal stabbing of a woman in her apartment in Kyoto City’s Shimogyo Ward earlier this year, reports NHK (Nov. 21).
According to police, Naoki Totsuka, a resident of Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward, fatally stabbed Rumino Yamamura, a 24-year-old part-time employee, sometime between the evening of October 6 and the following night.
Upon his arrest in Tokyo on November 21, Totsuka denied the allegations. “I’ve been in Kyoto with a woman whose name I don’t know, but I didn’t kill [anyone],” the suspect was quoted by police.
At around 2:00 p.m. on October 11, Yamamura was found collapsed and
bleeding inside her apartment by a relative.
Yamamura, who had suffered several around 10 stab wounds, including to the neck, chest and back, was confirmed dead at the scene.
According to the results of an autopsy, Yamamura died from wounds to the chest that caused blood to push up against her heart, police said previously.
Together days before the crime
Yamamura had missed two days of work prior to the discovery of her body. The relative visited the residence after being unable to contact her.
Yamamura, who lived alone, met Totsuka via a social-networking service (SNS). Security camera footage showed persons believed to be Totsuka and Yamamura together near the residence several days before the crime.
Upon the arrival of the relative, the front door was locked. Investigators found bloodstains in the bedroom, where the crime is believed to have taken place, and other rooms of the residence but in no other locations of the building.
Wallet left behind
Yamamura’s smartphone and house key have not been found. Her wallet, however, was left inside.
Yamamura had at least one wound on a hand that appeared to have been caused by her fending off an attack.
Police believe the suspect attempted to conceal the correspondence he had with Yamamura via the SNS prior to the crime.
Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances that led to the incident, including the possibility that Yamamura invited Totsuka to the residence.
