Society

Policeman indicted for murder of wife; deaths of 2 kids being probed

Jun 30 (Japan Today) - Prosecutors on Thursday charged a policeman with murdering his wife earlier this month at their home in Ogori, Fukuoka Prefecture, where their two children were also found dead.

Mitsuru Nakata, a 38-year-old sergeant with the Fukuoka prefectural police, is accused of strangling his wife Yukiko, also 38, shortly after midnight on June 5, according to the indictment. The police are still investigating if he was involved in the children's deaths.

Investigative sources said Nakata has continued to deny the allegation.

Nakata, who works for the prefectural police's communications dispatch division, was arrested on June 8 after the police recovered biological evidence from one of the wife's fingernails, suggesting she scratched him in a struggle, they said.

The sergeant has told investigators that he left for work early on June 6. He was living in the house with his wife and their son Ryosuke, 9, and daughter Miyu, 6.

The victims' bodies were found after his wife's sister visited their home. The sister found the wife lying face up in the kitchen on the first floor, while the two children were found dead in their bedroom on the second floor.

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