NIIGATA (TR) – Niigata Prefectural Police have launched a murder investigation after the discovery of a man’s corpse inside his residence in Joetsu City, reports Jiji Press (Mar. 25).
At around 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, police entered the residence of Keiichiro Nakajima, 76, located in a municipal housing block located in the Minamishinmachi area and found him collapsed and bleeding from the head. He was confirmed dead at the scene.
According to police, Nakajima had several wounds to the head. He also had rib fractures. He is believed to have died several days before the discovery of his body.
The cause of death was later determined to have been shock from external injuries and respiratory failure, according to the Sankei Shimbun (Mar. 25).
Police entered the residence after a male acquaintance of Nakajima, who lived alone, said that he had been unable to reach him for several days.
The front door of the residence was locked at the time of arrival of the police, and the interior had not been ransacked. No weapon was found at the scene.
Police believe an acquaintance of the victim was behind the crime.
