OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police on Wednesday arrested a 66-year-old man from Nishinari Ward who was acquitted of killing a high-school girl six years ago on charges of attempted murder, reports Sports Hochi (Nov. 6).
Officers took Katsumi Naka into custody for allegedly stabbing Hiromi Yoshitome, 38, in more than 10 locations on her body with a kitchen knife inside a multi-tenant building located about 600 meters from JR Osaka Station.
The victim, who manages a short-term stay business in the building, suffered serious injuries and was transported to a local hospital.
When officers apprehended the suspect at the scene of the crime, he had a 10-centimeter knife in his possession.
Naka has reportedly denied the charges, telling police that he acted in self defense after engaging in a monetary dispute with Yoshitome. “I stabbed the lower part of her body several times,” the suspect is quoted by police, according to the Sankei Shimbun (Nov. 5).
In May of 2011, the Kyoto District Court sentenced Katsumi Naka to life in prison for murdering Miho Kosugi, 15, while he attempted to molest her on May 7, 2008 in Maizuru, Kyoto.
However, an appeal to the Osaka High Court in December of 2012 overturned the ruling and Naka was acquitted.
In May of last year, Naka was arrested for stealing an adult magazine from a convenience store in Nishinari. The Osaka District Court later that year handed down a 14-month prison sentence, but Naka was released in September.