A 50-year-old woman has been arrested in Kobe on suspicion of abandoning the dismembered body of her former husband in a large freezer at a condominium unit, where she allegedly continued paying rent for more than 14 years while hiding his death.
Hyogo Prefectural Police said the suspect, Aki Mochizuki, was the wife of the victim, Yutaka Nishiguchi, around 2012, when he is believed to have died. Police said Mochizuki placed Nishiguchi’s body in bags, left it inside a freezer and abandoned the corpse.
According to police, Mochizuki continued paying rent on the unit for more than 14 years after allegedly abandoning the body, even while living in another condominium in Kobe. She has admitted the allegation, telling investigators, "There is no mistake that I did it. I did something terrible, and I have nothing to say in my defense."
Nishiguchi’s body was found on June 20 inside a large freezer in a condominium unit in Kobe’s Chuo Ward, where he had once lived. The body had been cut at the abdomen, with the upper half, dressed in a T-shirt, and the lower half, wearing underwear, each placed in separate bags.
After the case came to light, investigators focused on Mochizuki, Nishiguchi’s former wife, who was seven years younger than him and the tenant of the unit.
Mochizuki no longer lived at the scene and had moved to another condominium in central Kobe. Residents of that building said police had been keeping watch on the floor where she lived. One resident said, "There were quite a few people coming and going, so I wondered if something had happened. It felt like they were checking around the area." Another said, "Police had been watching the place for two or three days. When I asked what they were doing, they said they were police and apologized, saying they were on a stakeout."
According to investigative sources, Mochizuki initially denied involvement during voluntary questioning. On June 22, however, she contacted police and admitted, "I did it," leading to her arrest.
More than 14 years have passed since the incident is believed to have occurred. Police said that after Nishiguchi died, Mochizuki concealed his death, went through a divorce and moved elsewhere. She is currently believed to be unemployed.
At the same time, she remained the tenant of the unit where the body was found and continued paying rent until recently. Her current home and the condominium where Nishiguchi’s body was abandoned are about 10 minutes apart by car. Police believe Mochizuki continued entering the unit even after the incident.
A person who lived in the unit before Nishiguchi and Mochizuki said there had been no freezer there at the time. "The only thing I left behind when I moved out was the air conditioner. I took everything else with me. It wasn’t the kind of home where someone would leave a freezer," the person said.
Although Mochizuki continued paying the rent each month, she stopped paying the electricity bill in 2025, according to investigators. The power was cut off, causing the body inside the freezer to decompose, which is believed to have helped alert others to something unusual.
Another question for investigators is whether Mochizuki had help over the 14 years, including in preparing or moving the freezer. Former Saitama prefectural police investigator Narumi Sasaki said it was possible that people unaware of the circumstances helped move a large freezer, but added that the fact the body was never moved out suggests she may have acted alone.
Mochizuki has also reportedly made statements hinting that she killed Nishiguchi. Police are continuing to investigate the detailed circumstances and motive behind the case.
Source: FNN
