IBARAKI (TR) – Ibaraki Prefectural Police have revealed that the man accused of murdering his former girlfriend in Mito City could have learned where she lived by hiding a GPS unit inside a toy, reports TV Asahi (Jan. 23).
On December 31, Takumi Ouchi, 28, is alleged to have repeatedly stabbed 31-year-old manicurist Haruka Komatsumoto with a knife and hit her on the head with a blunt object at her residence.
Ouchi, who was pregnant, was later found collapsed and bleeding by her husband. She was taken to a hospital where she was later confirmed dead, police said.
Ouchi and Komatsumoto ended their relationship in 2024. According to police, Ouchi, an office worker living in the town of Shirosato, had been seeking the location of her home since last October.
In the latest development, police said that a stuffed animal left at her home may have been used by the suspect to learn her address.
According to investigators, the stuffed animal was delivered to Komatsumoto’s parents’ home a few days before the incident.
The toy, which had been left at their door, contained a GPS unit that could transmit its location. I was delivered in the name of a theme park operator and enclosed with a letter purporting to be a “gift for the winner of a prize draw.”
Once the stuffed animal was handed over to Komatsumoto from her parents’ home, the transmitter’s owner was able to determine her current address. Police are considering the possibility that the suspect himself delivered it to her parents’ home.
“A GPS unit communicates with satellites to pinpoint your location, making it possible to know your location anywhere in the world,” says crime prevention advisor, Mika Kyoshi. “They can sometimes be found in items you wouldn’t normally check the contents of. Look inside stuffed animals, presents, lucky charms and the bottoms of bags. If you find a transmitter or similar, contact the police immediately.”
Upon his arrest on suspicion of murder on January 21, Ouchi denied the allegations.
