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Chinese national arrested in murder of Chiba woman 3 years ago

Yang Xiaochun
Yang Xiaochun

CHIBA (TR) – Chiba Prefectural Police have arrested a male Chinese national for the killing of a 47-year-old woman in Narashino City three years ago, reports Nippon News Network (Mar. 5)

On the night of June 23, 2013, Yang Xiaochun, 50, allegedly strangled Kaori Hirohata, a part-time employee, to death and dumped her body in a park in the Akanehama area.

The body of Hirohata, who lived in a nearby building, was found in some bushes the next day by a member of a cleaning crew. Her neck showed markings of strangulation and her chest area had been beaten.

The results of an autopsy revealed that Hirohata died due to suffocation.

With valuables not found in Hirohata’s bag, police suspect that the motive for the crime was robbery, according to the Mainichi Shimbun (Mar. 4).

On Thursday, Yang finished serving a prison term in Tokyo for another robbery. During his imprisonment, the results of a DNA analysis of evidence in the Chiba crime proved to be a match with the suspect. He was prosecuted for Hirohata’s murder on Friday.

At the time of the incident, Yang was working near the park. Police have also confirmed that the suspect went missing immediately after the crime, according to the Sankei Shimbun (Mar. 5). As well, footage from a security camera taken approximately 200 meters from where Hirohata’s body was found confirmed the presence of both her and Yang on the night of the alleged crime.