HYOGO (TR) – Hyogo Prefectural Police are searching for a 42-year-old man wanted in connection with the fatal stabbing of a mother and daughter in Tatsuno City earlier this month.
Police have revealed that officers encountered Kenji Oyama and heard him confess to the crime days before the bodies were discovered, reports NHK (May 25).
On Sunday, Oyama was placed on a nationwide wanted list over the murder of 52-year-old Chihiro Tanaka.
Chihiro and her mother, 74-year-old Sumie Tanaka, were found stabbed to death inside their Tatsuno City home on May 19. They had multiple stab wounds to their necks and other areas. Investigators believe the women were killed around six days before.
There were no signs of a forced entry into the house, and a smartphone and a wallet containing cash were found inside. The weapon believed to be the murder weapon has not been found.
Oyama reportedly lived next door to the victims about a decade ago.
According to police, Oyama emerged as a suspect based on security camera footage from the area and the results of forensic analysis of evidence left at the scene.
The suspect was last seen on security camera footage near the scene on May 17. His whereabouts have been unknown since then.
Crossed paths
Police actually crossed paths with Oyama on May 16 — three days before the grim discovery. Officers found him sleeping on a street in Takasago City and woke him for questioning.
During the encounter, Oyama told the officers, “I killed someone.”
However, because his speech was incoherent and lacked specific details, police failed to grasp that a real crime had taken place. Unaware of the murders, officers instead drove Oyama back to the Tatsuno City area near his former residence and dropped him off.
By the time the slain mother and daughter were discovered on May 19, Oyama had vanished.
Hyogo Prefectural Police have since released the suspect’s photograph to the public and are urgently tracking his whereabouts.
Persons with information on the case are advised to call the Tatsuno Police Station at 0791-63-0110.
