TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police said on Saturday that a 45-year-old man in custody over the alleged murder of his boss in Ota Ward likely planned the attack.
According to the Sankei Shimbun (Jan. 10), police sent Masahiro Yamanaka, 45, to prosecutors on suspicion of murder on Saturday.
Police allege that Yamanaka fatally stabbed company executive Akihiro Kawashima, 44, at the victim’s apartment in Omorikita around January 7.
According to police, Kawashima had suffered more than 10 stab wounds when he was found collapsed and bleeding the next day.
“I did stab him, but I did not intend to kill him,” Yamanaka said of the murder allegations.
During voluntary questioning before his arrest on Friday, Yamanaka explained, “[Kawashima] was my high school classmate, and I was invited to join the company about four years ago.” He also said, “I was dissatisfied with his attitude, including his lack of gratitude toward employees, so I visited his home to express my concerns, and a scuffle ensued.”
Masahiro Yamanaka (X)Changed clothes
According to police, Yamanaka was a sales manager at the company where Kawashima served as representative director.
Based on security camera footage, police confirmed that Yamanaka’s clothing had changed from the time he left his home and when he arrived at Kawashima’s apartment.
It is believed that Yamanaka left his home on foot, headed to the apartment, and waited for Kawashima for around an hour.
When he left the apartment after carrying out the crime, his clothing was back to that of when he left his home, suggesting he may have been trying to avoid detection.
“Thrown away”
Police said that the murder weapon was similar like a fruit knife. It is believed to have been brought from the suspect’s home. Yamanaka explained that he had “thrown away” the weapon.
When police went to confirm this statement, they discovered the second set of clothes — a shirt, sneakers, a hat and a mask — were also found in the dumpster. and the knife in a garbage dump at another apartment building in Ota.
All of the items were stained with blood. Police believe that they were discarded by Yamanaka when he fled.
Yamanaka also said that when he left the apartment he locked it with a key he found at the front door and threw it through the mailbox when he left.
AloJapan.com