HOKKAIDO (TR) – Following the arrest of two managers of a bar over the dumping of the corpse of a 19-year-old girl in the mountains of Iwamizawa City last year, Hokkaido Prefectural Police have arrested a third man, reports Fuji News Network (Feb. 26).
On around December 15, Kazuo Shibata, 47, of no known occupation, allegedly worked with Tomonori Jin and Kotaku Hasegawa, both 33 years of age, in dumping the body of Yuri Miyoshi in the mountains of the town of Kurisawa.
On Friday, a human head was found in snow in a wooded area. The following day, hair was also found. The results of a DNA analysis on the remains proved to be a match for Miyoshi. Another search of the area in Kurisawa is planned for Monday, police said, according to NHK (Feb. 26).
Police arrested the Jin and Hasegawa on Saturday night. During questioning, the participation of Shibata surfaced. He turned himself over to police on Sunday night. He was arrested on suspicion of abandoning a corpse on Monday.
It has not been revealed whether any of the three suspects admit to the allegations.
Miyoshi was last seen in Sapporo’s red-light district of Susukino on December 15. Her family reported her missing on December 21.
Miyoshi, a resident of Sapporo’s Shiroishi Ward, regularly visited the bar managed the suspects, and was an acquaintance of Jin, police said.
Police are now investigating what roles the suspects played in carrying out the crime.
