FUKUSHIMA (TR) – Police here have arrested a 61-year-old unemployed man on suspicion of abandoning the corpse of his elderly mother by leaving her remains unattended in their shared home for approximately two weeks, reports TV Asahi (June 16).
Yuji Yomogida, a resident of Date City, is accused of leaving the body of his 89-year-old mother, Hiroko, inside their residence until June 12, police said.
When officers initially arrived at the property, Yomogida had already fled the scene. Investigators launched a search and eventually tracked the suspect down in Tokyo, where he was taken into custody on Monday.
Upon his arrest, Yomogida admitted to the allegations.
According to a neighbor, Yomogida had been turning away visitors prior to the discovery.
“A friend of Hiroko’s asked to see her, but he told them, ‘You can’t see her right now,'” the neighbor recalled. “I wonder if she had already passed away at that time, and that’s why he wouldn’t let them meet.”
Police are continuing their investigation to determine the exact circumstances leading up to the woman’s death.
