YAMAGATA (TR) – A 23-year-old male Yamagata University student accused over the alleged murder of a female ophthalmologist in Higashine City last month has no recollection of the incident, police said on Thursday, reports TBS News (June 14).
On the morning of May 19, Hiroki Kato allegedly intruded into the apartment of 50-year-old Chiemi Yaguchi and used a blunt object to repeatedly strike her in the head.
Yaguchi died as a result of damage to the skull caused by repeated blows, police said previously. A previous report indicated that the weapon was a golf putter.
On Thursday, police sent Kato to prosecutors at the Yamagata District Public Prosecutor’s Office on suspicion of murder. “I do not recall [the incident],” the suspect said in denying the allegations.
Kato, a resident of Yamagata City, surfaced as a person of interest after an examination of security camera footage taken at the building.
After the incident, he is believed to taken a train for JR Yamagata Station. From there, he boarded a bus, police said.
Later on the day of the incident, the younger brother of Yaguchi tipped off police after finding her collapsed inside the residence.
