HOKKAIDO (TR) – Hokkaido Prefectural Police have launched a murder investigation following the discovery of an elderly woman’s body inside her home in Kushiro City, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Jan. 16).
At approximately 4:00 p.m. on Friday, the body of Hiroko Tanaka, 80, was found collapsed in the living room of the residence, located in the Aikokunishi area, by an acquaintance. The victim’s head had been beaten and covered with a plastic bag.
Tanaka lived by herself. At the time of the discovery, the front door of the residence was unlocked and its interior had not been disturbed.
Tanaka was supposed to attend at social event at 10:00 a.m. that morning. When she did not arrive to go to the event, an acquaintance telephoned her a few times but the calls went unanswered. A separate acquaintance later visited Tanaka’s home and made the grisly discovery.
