Hyogo police: Man found dead in trunk of car died due to suffocation

May 12, 2021 | News On Japan

May 12, 2021 (tokyoreporter.com) - A man whose corpse was found in a vehicle in Kobe City’s Kita Ward last week died due to suffocation, police have revealed, reports NHK (May 7).

On May 5, police responding to a call found the body of Hiroshi Morishita, 62, inside the trunk of the vehicle, which was overturned in a field.

Both of Morishita’s hands and his face had been bound with tape. Police believe that it is highly likely that he was murdered.

Police said two days later that the results of an autopsy revealed the cause of death was suffocation.

Morishita was the manager of a convenience store in Kobe. The driver of the vehicle was a part-time employee at the store.

Police arrested the unnamed 27-year-old man on suspicion of abandoning a corpse. He was sent to prosecutors on May 7.

Since the suspect suffers from a mental disability, police are working to determine whether he came be held criminally liable in the case.

“When I heard the news that the death of my father was due to an incident, I was very shocked,” a son of Morishita said through a lawyer. “I have no idea why he had to face this.”

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