Police officers examine an area outside an apartment in Izumi, Osaka Prefecture, on April 9, 2026, after two women were found murdered in their unit. (Kyodo)
OSAKA (Kyodo) — Police launched a murder investigation Thursday after a mother and her adult daughter were found dead in their apartment in Osaka Prefecture the previous day.
Kazuko Murakami, 76, and social welfare worker Yuka Murakami, 41, died at around 4 a.m. Wednesday from blood loss, the police said. Autopsies found stab wounds, including to their heads and necks, as well as signs of struggle.
Kazuko was found in the living room of the unit, while Yuka was found collapsed near the kitchen, according to the police. The entrance was left unlocked.
A relative who came to check on them called the police at around 12:30 p.m. Thursday. He had been contacted by Yuka’s employer after she did not show up for work, the police said.
The apartment complex is in Izumi, a city in the southern part of the prefecture.
“They were a close family,” a 31-year-old neighbor said. “I don’t understand why this has happened to them.”
AloJapan.com