Press "Enter" to skip to content

Woman, husband accused in murder of her father in Wakayama

Tomoyuki Shibata has been accused of murder and abandoning a corpse in the death of his wife's father
Tomoyuki Shibata has been accused of murder and abandoning a corpse in the death of his wife’s father

WAKAYAMA (TR) – A woman and her husband were prosecuted at the Wakayama District Court on Thursday for murder and abandoning a corpse in the death of her father, whose body was found along a road in Tanabe City in January, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Apr. 7).

According to the indictment, Yukie Shibata, 24, and her husband, 31-year-old Tomoyuki, are alleged to have stabbed Tadayoshi Batani, a 50-year-old carpenter, in the right shoulder with a kitchen knife as he slept in his residence, located in the Kamitonda area, at 2:45 a.m. on December 6.

After Batani died, the suspects then allegedly dumped his body off a prefectural road in the village of Ryujin.

On January 10, a cleaning crew found the body, which was later identified as belonging to Batani through an examination of dental records, wrapped in a blue tarp tied with a white vinyl cord.

Eight days later, police searched the residence of the defendants. The results of a DNA analysis of blood found in a vehicle at the premises proved to be a match for Batani.

An autopsy conducted on the body revealed the cause of the death to be shock brought about by loss of blood from the stab wound to the right shoulder.