Photo/Illutration Hazel Ann Baguisa Morales, who was arrested on suspicion of dumping a couple’s bodies under their home in Tokyo (Captured from her Facebook account)

A Filipino man, who was arrested on suspicion of abandoning a couple’s bodies under their home in Tokyo, said he “was asked” to do so by a Filipino woman who was also arrested in connection with the case, investigative sources said.

Bryan Jefferson Lising Dela Cruz, 34, who lives in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, and Hazel Ann Baguisa Morales, 30, are suspected of conspiring to dump the bodies of the couple in their 50s underneath their house in Adachi Ward around Jan. 16, according to the sources.

The suspects have known each other since they were in the Philippines, the sources said.

Morales, who also resides in Adachi Ward, denied the allegations at the time of her arrest.

According to sources, the two bodies were found under the floorboards of a changing room adjacent to bathroom, with multiple bloodstains around the area. Some of the DNA types matched those of Dela Cruz.

He was hospitalized with a hand injury after the incident.

Investigators suspect that he may have been injured during a struggle with the couple.

Dela Cruz had entered Japan at least twice as a technical intern program trainee.

Most recently, he arrived in the country in July 2023 and was working for a construction-related company in Tsuchiura.

According to a senior official of the supervising organization that arranges for trainees’ placements with companies, Dela Cruz was excellent at his job.

“I heard that he had a warm personality among many trainees and worked hard for his family in his home country,” the official said. “I still can’t believe (his arrest).”

(This article was written by Yuji Masuyama, Minami Endo and Shomei Nagatsuma.)

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