KANAGAWA (TR) – Kanagawa Prefectural Police are investigating what is believed to have been a murder-suicide following the discovery of the bodies of an elderly man and his wife in their residence in Atsugi City, reports NHK (Feb. 26).
On Sunday evening, police found the body of Motomu Nomaguchi, 80, in a first-floor bedroom with marks consistent with strangulation on his neck. As well, police found his wife, Yuriko, 77, hanged in a bedroom on the second floor.
According to the Atsugi Police Station, Yuriko served as a nurse for Motomu, who was bedridden.
The day before the discovery, a male neighbor spoke with Yurkio on the telephone in which she said she was worn out from taking her care of her husband. She also said that she wished to die.
After not being able to contact the couple on Sunday, the acquaintance alerted emergency services, police said.
Police suspect that Yuriko strangled Motomu with a cord before taking her life. A note, purportedly written by Yuriko, was found on a table on the first floor. Police did not divulge the content of the note.