Dec 10, 2020 (tokyoreporter.com) - A 29-year-old man in custody for allegedly dumping the body of a missing woman in Tochigi Prefecture earlier this year is also suspected of molesting a young girl, police have revealed, reports TBS News (Dec. 8).
On Sunday, police accused Yoshito Sato, a nursery school teacher, of dumping the body of Saori Tomitsuka, a 35-year-old contract employee, on the grounds of a villa in the town of Nasu.
Sato admitted to the allegations. “I broke into [her] residence to steal money,†the suspect said. “When she resisted, I strangled her with a rope in killing her.â€
The cause of death of Tomitsuka was suffocation caused by pressure applied to the neck, police said.
Tomitsuka lived in Toshima Ward. In the latest development, police said that an examination of security camera footage showed a man believed to be Sato following other women near Tomitsuka’s residence just before the incident.
As well, a man resembling Sato is alleged to have molested an elementary school girl in Shinjuku Ward in November.
According to police, the whereabouts of Tomitsuka became unknown on September 24. Police investigating her disappearance found her mobile telephone near her residence.
An examination of security camera footage by police also showed a person believed to be Sato following Tomitsuka around the time she disappeared.
Yoshito Sato (Twitter)
Voluntary questioning
Sato lives about 600 meters from Tomitsuka’s residence in Toshima. On Saturday, police took him in for voluntary questioning. During the session, the suspect divulged the location of her body.
Police later found her unclothed body on the property of the villa. It is believed that Sato used his vehicle to transport Tomitsuka’s body to Nasu after he killed her.
Other security camera footage also showed Sato carrying something wrapped in a blanket near Tomitsuka’s residence on the night she disappeared.
