CHIBA (TR) – The male chairman of a parent-teacher association has been arrested in connection with the killing of a Vietnamese girl last month in Abiko City, reports TV Asahi (Apr. 16).
On Friday, Chiba Prefectural Police arrested Yasumasa Shibuya, the 46-year-old head of the PTA at Mutsumi Daini Elementary School, on suspicion of abandoning the body of Le Thi Nhat Linh, a 9-year-old resident of Matsudo City, near a canal. He was sent to prosecutors on Saturday.
Shibuya has remained silent regarding the charges, police said, adding that DNA evidence was found at the scene that matched with the suspect, according to NHK (Apr. 14).
Le, who was a student at Mutsumi Daini Elementary School, went missing on March 24. Two days later, her body was found by a fisherman in grass near the canal, about 12 kilometers from her residence.
Shibuya regularly worked security patrols for the students each morning. On March 24, he did not arrive for such duty.
An examination of security camera footage taken on March 24 showed a silver vehicle belonging to Shibuya at a bank of the Tone River where a backpack and other items likely belonging to the girl were later found. The vehicle was also spotted near the location of the discovery of her body, about 20 kilometers from the riverbank.
The results of an autopsy revealed that Le likely died due to suffocation caused by strangulation. She also had small injuries on her arms and legs.
Police seized the car in question and another vehicle used for camping to search for any of Le’s belongings. They also searched the home of the suspect.
Le’s parents departed for Vietnam with her body on a plane that took off from Narita International Airport on April 2. Le would have started her fourth year of elementary school this month.
