Police in Inami, Hyogo Prefecture, have arrested a 51-year-old man on suspicion of killing his two nephews, aged seven and 12, and then setting fire to their house, on Nov 19.

Police had been seeking the suspect, Tomeko Matsuo, since the fire on the night of Nov 19, Fuji TV reported. He was arrested at around 1 p.m. on Wednesday in Osaka’s Kita Ward, after police found him sitting on a park bench.

Police said Matsuo has admitted killing the two brothers and setting the house on fire at around 11:30 p.m. He lived there with his sister (the boys’ mother) and her husband. At the time of the fire, the children’s father had gone to pick up their mother from work, leaving them and their uncle in the house.

The two-story wooden house was destroyed by the fire and investigators said a flammable liquid had been used to start the blaze. The bodies of the siblings were found on the first floor and police believe the children, who were in bed at the time, woke up but were overcome by smoke before they could get out of the house. An autopsy showed they died of smoke inhalation.

Source: TBS NEWS