The body of Ayana Yoshida, a 26-year-old woman from Atsugi City, lying atop two futons, which had been wrapped in a plastic sheet that itself was bound tightly by a rope used for construction work.
On January 15, police arrested the victim’s ex-boyfriend, Seiji Kamioka, a 34-year-old construction worker, on charges of abandoning a corpse. A DNA analysis of material left at the scene of the crime matched that of the suspect, who has admitted to the allegations.
According to Shukan Jitsuwa (Feb. 5), the case is the tragic ending to a troubled relationship between Yoshida, a part-time bar hostess, and Kamioka, who is married with three children.
“They began living together two years ago,” a local news reporter tells the magazine. “But Yoshida ended the relationship last summer.”
At midnight on October 27, Yoshida left word with her mother in Yokohama that she was leaving to pick up her belongings from the apartment of Kamioka. She was not heard from again.
When her body was found, the top half was clothed, but her underwear had been removed. On the right side of her head, there were signs that she had been beaten, and her skull had been fractured. On top of the futons was a pair of sinkers, composed of stone ballast.
The results of an autopsy revealed the cause of death to be blows to the head.
For the police, searching for suspects proved to be challenging since the victim’s network of acquaintances was very large. During the day, Yoshida studied at an esthetician vocational school in Machida City. At night, she covered her living expenses by working at hostess clubs in Machida, Atsugi and Hadano. Further, Kamioka had made an arrangement with a friend to create an alibi for that time period.
According to an investigator, the Kamioka and Yoshida had become engaged in a dispute inside his vehicle on the night she disappeared. “It appears that the suspect hit her in the head with a blunt object,” says the investigator. “He then used a truck from his place of employment to move her body. Her blood was found in the bed of the truck. As well, sweat and hair from Kamioka were discovered on the futons.”
Yoshida became frustrated last year at Kamioka’s reluctance to get a divorce. “The last straw was when he flew into a drunken rage at assaulted her during a summer festival,” says the aforementioned reporter. “But he maintained a lingering affection and subsequently pursued her. Yoshida mentioned on Facebook that she was frustrated with his stalking.” (A.T.)
Source: “Hiratsuka bijin kyaba-jo iki jiken furin kankei ni ikizumatta yōgi-sha no gyaku gire guko,” Shukan Jitsuwa (Feb. 5, page 214)
