CHIBA (TR) – A 47-year-old man in custody in connection with the disappearance of his wife earlier this year has been further accused of dumping her body, police have revealed, reports TBS News (Nov. 14).
On November 13, police accused Akira Ono, a company employee, of abandoning the body of his wife, 32-year-old Rina.
Police believe that Ono transported the body of his wife from Chiba Prefecture to a beach at Ibaraki Prefecture on March 6 and 7.
In contradicting previous statements, Ono denies the allegations. “I didn’t abandon [her body],” the suspect was quoted by police.
Body has not been found
Rina’s whereabouts became unknown after she left her company in Narita City on March 6. Her family reported her missing with police three days later. Thereafter, investigators found her vehicle parked at a park in Narita.
In October, police first arrested Ono for fraudulently using his wife’s name for the registration document for a vehicle he purchased for himself in January.
During questioning, Ono said, “I stabbed her in my car and buried her at the beach.”
The beach is in Hokota City, Ibaraki. Investigators used dogs and excavation equipment to search a more than 15-kilometer-long stretch of beach between Hokota and Kashima cities over 67 days between June and October. However, a body was not found, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (Nov. 15).
Last week, police also revealed that security camera footage showed Ono to have used one of the vehicles to travel between Narita and the Hokota area on the night Rina disappeared.
Custody dispute
Ono, a resident of Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, and Rina have been separated for more than two years. She lives in Inzai City, Chiba.
The couple has one child. When Rina disappeared, she and Ono were believed to have been fighting over custody of the child.
During a search of his residence, police found Rina’s driver’s license, a knife and hair smeared with blood later confirmed to be hers.
The couple have a total of three vehicles. Stains of Rina’s blood were found inside one of them. Police also found signs of blood having been wiped up.
Prior to Ono’s first arrest, he told police under voluntary questioning, “I thought that I [would have custody of] my child if my wife were gone. I wanted to talk [to her] about custody.”
