OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police believe a man strangled his former girlfriend before starting a fire in his residence in Kashiwara City that killed himself last week, reports the Sankei Shimbun (May 15).
Police said on Monday that the man, a 33-year-old company employee, who lives in the apartment in the Asahigaoka area, died due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Meanwhile, the cause of death of the woman, 35, was suffocation due to pressure applied to the neck.
At around 8:05 a.m. on May 15, police working off tip alerted emergency services after seeing smoke coming from the mail slot in the door of the apartment.
Police entering the residence, whose front door was locked, found the unclothed bodies inside.
Officers found the man in the bathroom with both of his wrists slashed. He also had a stab wound to his left chest. The woman was discovered lying face-up in the living room.
The man and the woman were in a relationship at some point in the past. Police believe that he strangled her before starting the fire that killed him.
The result of the autopsy conducted on the body of the woman revealed that she died before the start of the fire.
Prior to the arrival of officers, the father of the woman alerted police after she dropped out of contact.
