SAPPORO (TR) – Following a stabbing incident that left one woman dead and another injured, Hokkaido Prefectural Police announced on Monday that a 30-year-old man is wanted in connection with the crime, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 9).
At around 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, Shuichi Shirakawa is believed to have beaten his 23-year-old former wife, Yuko Ouchi, in the head and stabbed her mother Mayumi Ouchi, 52, in the chest inside the first floor of the home they shared in Toyohira Ward.
Mayumi was transported to a nearby hospital where she died the following day.
After the attack, Shirakawa abducted the woman’s one-year-old boy and fled the scene in a van. At approximately 2:00 p.m. on Monday, the boy was found unharmed at the home of the suspect’s parents in the town of Bihoro, located about 300 kilometers from Sapporo. The suspect was not at the home upon the arrival of police.
Approximately 1,000 police officers have been mobilzed to locate the suspect.
Since January of last year, Yuko had consulted with police about violent behavior by Shirakawa, according to TBS News (Feb. 8). On the day of the crime, Yuko told police that Shirakawa had been sending her emails and calling her on the phone. Police then advised the suspect to cease contact with Yuko.
After the attack, Yuko rushed to the home of a neighbor who then alerted emergency services.
Update: Shirakawa was apprehended by police after a standoff inside a vehicle in Bihoro on Wednesday night, reports Fuji News Network (Feb. 10).
