By CHIFUMI SHINYA/ Staff Writer
July 25, 2023 at 18:05 JST
Police take objects seized during a search from the suspects’ home in Sapporo on July 24. (Masanari Matsuda)
SAPPORO--The head of a man found dead in a hotel has been discovered in the suspects’ home, as police arrested a third member of the family on July 25.
Police detained Hiroko Tamura, 60, a part-time worker. On July 24, they arrested Tamura’s daughter Runa, 29, and her husband, Osamu, a 59-year-old doctor.
All three are being held on suspicion of damaging, abandoning and illegally possessing a body.
The naked, headless body of a 62-year-old Hokkaido resident was found in a hotel in Sapporo’s Susukino entertainment district on July 2.
Police searched the suspects’ home in Sapporo's Atsubetsu Ward where they found the partially decomposed head.
It was identified based on dental records.
The man died from a stab wound, investigative sources said earlier in the investigation.
Police believe the suspects severed the man’s head and took it to their home.
They suspect that Runa entered the hotel with the victim and later removed the man’s head and belongings from the scene.
Osamu is suspected of driving Runa to and from the site.
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