TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 51-year-old man after a body believed to be that of his missing wife was found in the mountains of Hachioji City on Monday, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Aug. 22).
During questioning on Monday, Katsuhito Aoki, an insurance examiner living in Kunitachi City, admitted to dumping the body of his wife, 43-year-old Mariko, in the mountains of the Inumemachi area. Based on his testimony, police found a corpse.
Also on Monday, police also searched the residence of Aoki. On Tuesday, he was arrested on suspicion of abandoning a corpse.
Missing after June 16
Mariko, a teacher at a school for children requiring special needs, went missing after leaving work on June 16. The vice-principal at the school subsequently received messages purportedly from Mariko in which she requested leave from work. On July 25, the vice-principal visited her residence and found her to not be present.
According to police, the suspect was seen hauling a large bag from the couple’s residence in security camera footage.
“On the night of [June] 17, we got into a fight, and I beat her her head multiple times with a hammer,” the suspect told police. “I packed her body in a sports bag and hauled it away by car.”
Police are now working to confirm the identity of the body.
