Sep 22 (Japan Today) - Police in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, have arrested three men on suspicion of trying to rob a vacant house where an elderly couple were murdered.
According to police, Makoto Uchikawa, 47, another man, 46, and a woman, 43, broke into the residence in Higashi-Hiratsuka in late April and stole 52 items of jewelry, including necklaces and rings, estimated to be worth over 8.2 million yen, Fuji TV reported.
The 77-year-old man and his 67-year-old wife who lived in the house were murdered on Jan 1 this year and their house has been unoccupied and left as it was since then. No one has been charged with their murders.
Police officers who had been continuing their investigation of the murder noticed that a window was broken and ascertained that the house had been robbed. The three suspects, who were arrested after trying to resell the stolen items, have denied the charge.
Police believe it is unlikely that they were involved in the double murder case.
Source: ANNnewsCH