AICHI (TR) — A man has died after being found severely battered and dumped in front of a hospital in Toyokawa City last week, prompting a major police investigation into a possible link with a violent abduction on a nearby expressway, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Apr. 4).
Around 2:30 a.m. on April 3, the unidentified victim — estimated to be in his 30s or 40s — was discovered collapsed at the west rotary entrance of Toyokawa City Hospital. He was confirmed dead shortly thereafter.
The Aichi Prefectural Police have established an investigative headquarters at the Toyokawa Police Station, treating the case on suspicion of inflicting injury resulting in death.
An autopsy revealed the victim suffered massive trauma across his entire body, including subcutaneous hemorrhaging and severe wounds indicating he had been repeatedly struck on his head, back and lower half. Authorities are currently rushing to confirm his identity.
Detectives are investigating whether the grim discovery is connected to an incident that unfolded roughly two hours prior and 13 kilometers away. Just after midnight, authorities received an emergency report detailing a heated altercation among a group of men at the Shinshiro Parking Area on the Tomei Expressway in Shinshiro City.
According to the report, one man was violently assaulted during the dispute before being forced into a black car and driven off into the night. Police strongly suspect the abducted man may be the same victim who was later discarded at the hospital gates.
