SAITAMA (TR) – Two men in custody in connection with the deaths of an elderly woman and her son in her residence in Tokorozawa City last year have been further accused of murder, police have revealed, reports Fuji News Network (July 2).
On Monday, police accused Yoshiaki Sakuma, 54, and Ryuji Otani, 43, of using a knife to fatally stab Yoshitaka Osaki, 53, in the abdomen at the residence.
Police did not reveal whether the suspects admit to the allegations but added that the pair is also under investigation for the death of Osaki’s mother, 76-year-old Fumiko Irie.
On February 8, 2018, the bodies of Irie and Osaki were found collapsed in the bathroom by relatives.
Police said at the time that the body of Irie did not exhibit external wounds. She was later confirmed to have died due to drowning.
The upper body of her son, a kindergarten bus driver, had received a number of stab wounds. He died due to internal organ damage, police said previously.
Thereafter, police accused Sakuma, who lived in the residence with Irie, and Otani of abandoning a corpse.
Police have further revealed that the suspects are alleged to have misappropriated funds in a bank account belonging to Irie.
At the time police arrived at the residence, Sakuma, who served as the woman’s nurse, was not present. Police subsequently launched a search for his whereabouts. He was later located in Chiba Prefecture.
According to a previous report, Osaki regularly visited his mother to provide assistance. After making such a visit February 7, he did not arrive for work on the following day. His wife and the woman’s eldest son then visited the residence and made the discovery.
