IBARAKI (TR) – In the case of six persons arrested for abandoning a man’s body in a forested area in the town of Sakai last year, Tokyo Metropolitan Police has rearrested two of the alleged perpetrators on suspicion of murder, reports TBS News (Feb. 26).
The two defendants rearrested on suspicion of murder and kidnapping for profit in connection with the death of Jun are 33-year-old Shogo Umeda and 27-year-old Seiya Kumazaki.
Umeda and Kumazaki are suspected of going to Matsunaga’s home between June 11 and 13. They lured Matsunaga, then 48, with one of them saying, “Let’s talk for a bit, let’s go outside.”
After kidnapping him, Umeda and Kumazaki are also suspected of killing Matsunaga by kicking him in the head while inside a car.
Umeda has remained silent during questioning, while Kumazaki has denied the charges, police said.
On June 15, Umeda, Kumazaki and four others buried the corpse of Matsunaga two meters deep in the forest in Sakai. Investigators found the nearly naked corpse last October.
According to police, a video was found on Umeda’s smartphone showing Matsunaga’s hands and feet bound with plastic rope as he was being severely assaulted.
Also arrested was Ayuka Tadano, 25, on suspicion of kidnapping for profit. She denies the allegations, police said. She is among the defendants accused of abandoning a corpse.
Police previously said that Umeda had become angry with Matsunaga over a relationship with a female acquaintance. He then instructed Tadano, who knew Matsunaga, to lure him out.
Police are investigating the possibility that Umeda had planned the crime with the aim of seizing Matsunaga’s alleged illegal drug interests.
