KYOTO - Police investigating the death of an 11-year-old boy whose body was found in a forest in Kyoto Prefecture believe his father moved the remains between several locations over a number of days in an apparent attempt to conceal the crime.
Yuki Adachi, a 37-year-old company employee from Sonobecho, Nantan, was arrested in the early hours of April 16 on suspicion of abandoning the body of his son, Yuki, an elementary school student. Investigative sources said Adachi has also acknowledged killing the child during questioning.
According to police, the suspect transported the body to wooded mountain areas and other locations within the city between the morning of March 23 and the evening of April 13 before leaving it in forestland in Nantan.
Adachi has admitted the abandonment allegation and told investigators, in substance, that he acted alone. Police announced later on April 16 that a special investigation headquarters had been established at Nantan Police Station.
Yuki was reported missing on March 23 after he failed to attend school. At the time, Adachi told police he had driven the boy to school by car. However, security camera footage near the school did not capture the child, and no witnesses reported seeing him that day.
The body was discovered on April 13 in a lightly trafficked mountain forest area of Nantan, lying face up on the ground about 2 kilometers southwest of the boy's elementary school and roughly 8 kilometers from his home.
Investigators said the body is believed to have been relocated multiple times before it was found. They suspect the repeated movement was intended to prevent discovery.
The sequence of discoveries began with the recovery of the boy's school bag on March 29, followed by shoes believed to be his on April 12, and finally the body on April 13. Each site was several kilometers apart, strengthening suspicions that the belongings and remains had been deliberately transported.
An autopsy confirmed the identity of the body. No obvious external injuries, including stab wounds, were found, and police said it could take several months to determine the exact cause of death.
Authorities continued searching the suspect's home and examining forensic evidence on April 16 as they sought to reconstruct the timeline of the killing, the disposal of the body and the motive behind the case.
The incident has deeply shaken the local school community. Schools were temporarily closed on April 14, while shortened classes were introduced from April 15 through April 17 amid anxiety among students.
Source: TBS
