TOKYO (TR) – A 23-year-old woman in custody for allegedly burying the body of her newborn at a park in Minato Ward last year has been further accused of murder, police have revealed, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (Nov. 11).
Sayuri Kitai, a clothing salesperson, has told police that she used toilet paper to suffocate the infant — later found to be a girl — at around 4:00 p.m. on November 3, 2019.
On Wednesday, police accused Kita of murder. “I killed my baby because I thought it would affect my ability to find a job,” told police. “I also couldn’t afford [to raise the child].”
Earlier this month, police first arrested Kitai for allegedly burying the body of the infant at Italy Park in the Higashi Shimbashi area of Tokyo.
Inside one of the toilets for about 40 minutes
Kitai lives in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture. According to police, she
arrived at the airport on a flight from Kobe on the night of November 3, 2019. She has previously told police that she came to the capital to find a job.
Based on security camera footage taken at the airport, she was inside one of the toilets for about 40 minutes. After staying one night at a hotel attached to the airport, she departed the next day.
On the morning of November 8, officers working off a tip from a passerby found the body of the girl on the south side of Italy Park in Shimbashi.
The umbilical cord was attached. The results of an autopsy revealed that she died due to suffocation, police said previously.
Digging a hole by hand
Kitai emerged as a person of interest in the case after police viewed about 29,000 persons who appeared in security camera footage shot in the area.
Kitai came to the capital to look for a job. Police believe she gave birth at the airport, suffocated the child and put the body in a paper bag
The suspect then traveled to the park on the Tokyo Monorail. After digging a hole by hand, she buried the body.
At the time of the incident, Kitai was a fourth-year university student. Her pregnancy had been registered with a government office in Kobe.