AICHI (TR) – Aichi Prefectural Police revealed on Wednesday that one of two persons accused of dumping the corpse of a woman in Shiga Prefecture obtained her virtual currency bitcoin, reports Nippon News Network (Aug. 2).
On around June 20, Ichiya Nishida, a resident of Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture, and an 18-year-old boy from Shiga, allegedly buried the body of Miyuki Noda, 53, who went missing two days before, in a forested area of the town of Taga.
The results of an autopsy revealed the cause of death of Noda to be respiratory failure brought about by pressure applied to the neck, police said.
According to police sources, Nishida is believed to have posed as Noda online in obtaining bitcoin owned by her and valued at more than 100,000 yen in early July. Police suspect that Noda was killed for financial gain.
Thus far, the suspects have been accused of abandoning the corpse of Noda. On Monday evening, a team of about 80 officers working off information provided by the suspects unearthed the body of Noda at a depth of between one and two meters.
Noda’s smartphone
According to a previous report, Nishida met Noda at a seminar about virtual currencies. Prior to his arrest, he had been undergoing voluntary questioning in the case. On Sunday, police found Noda’s smartphone and bag during a search of the vehicle and residence of Nishida.
Noda, who worked part-time at a catering business, went missing following a seminar about selling food products and cosmetics over the internet, held on June 18 in Kasugai City, Aichi. After the event, she told participants that she was going to meet an acquaintance. That night, she was seen boarding a vehicle registered to Nishida at JR Ogaki Station in Gifu.
Carried to forest
In carrying out the crime, the suspects are believed to have stuffed the body of Noda into a bag before carrying it to the forest in Taga. The corpse was buried using construction machinery, police said.
It is expected that murder and robbery charges will be applied to the suspects, police said.
