Sep 17, 2017 (Japan Today) - Prosecutors in Ogori, Fukuoka Prefecture, plan to charge a policeman -- already indicted for murdering his wife in June -- with the murder of their two children.
Mitsuru Nakata, a 38-year-old sergeant with the Fukuoka prefectural police, was initially arrested on suspicion of strangling his wife Yukiko, also 38, shortly after midnight on June 5, according to the indictment.
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.
Given that the house was filled with smoke, the police suspect Nakata attempted to burn it to destroy evidence.
