FUKUOKA (TR) – A missing woman whose corpse was found in a river in the town of Kasuya on Monday was likely killed in a nearby field, police have revealed, reports TV Asahi (July 11).
At around 11:30 a.m. on Monday, the brother-in-law of Teruko Murao, 38, found her body floating in the Sue River in the Nakabaru area.
The results of an autopsy revealed the cause of death to be suffocation. As well, she suffered a broken bone near her neck, Kasuya Police Station said.
Police found Murao’s bicycle near where her body was discovered. Police believe that she was abducted as she commuted home from work on Saturday and killed in a nearby rice field. Her body was then dumped in the river.
On Wednesday, divers searched the river for evidence, including her mobile telephone, which is missing.
On Saturday, Murao, a company employee, told her husband by telephone that she was on her way home. However, she never arrived. The following day, her family lodged a missing persons report with police.
Police are now examining security camera footage taken in the area for clues in the case, which is being treated as murder and abandoning a corpse.
