SHIZUOKA (TR) – Shizuoka Prefectural Police have arrested two men in connection with the corpse of a missing woman found in a forest in Fujieda City earlier this month, reports NHK (June 13).
One man, aged in his 40s, arrived at a police station in Nagoya on Monday. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of illegally confining Mayuko Uchiyama, a 29-year-old resident of Hamamatsu City. The suspect admits to the allegations, telling police that he and other men abducted the victim.
Police also apprehended a man in his 20s who is believed to have gotten to know the other suspect online. Police are also investigating whether a third man participated in the crime.
At around 6:00 p.m. on June 9, a search team looking for Uchiyama found the body later confirmed to belong to her along a mountain road in the Setonoya area. The body, buried at a depth of around 20 centimeters, was completely covered with soil, police said previously.
The body did not exhibit any external wounds, police said at the time.
Personal belongings possibly belonging to Uchiyama, including a pair of eyeglasses, were found in the area. However, the mobile phone and wallet of the victim have not been found, police said.
Police have not disclosed if the cause of death has been determined.
Missing on May 26
Uchiyama went missing on May 26. Three days later, her family lodged a missing persons report with police.
An examination of security camera footage showed Uchiyama being abducted into her own vehicle by several men at a parking lot of a gym in Hamamatsu on the night of May 26. The vehicle was later found in Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture. The interior of the vehicle had not been ransacked, police said.
Based on an examination of data from the vehicle’s onboard navigational system, police began searching areas where it traveled.
