Man found dead in Tokyo; link to suspected murder-suicide probed

Tokyo police are investigating a possible link between the death of a man found in Nerima Ward and a suspected murder-suicide that occurred last week in Nishitokyo, where a 36-year-old mother and her three sons were found dead, investigative sources said Tuesday.

The body of 27-year-old Shintaro Nakakubo was discovered Monday inside an apartment leased under the name of the mother, Yuka Nomura, authorities said. Nakakubo’s body, found inside a bedroom closet, bore multiple stab wounds, including one to the abdomen, according to police sources.

Investigators believe Nakakubo, who was acquainted with Nomura, had been living alone in the apartment. His death is thought to have occurred several days before the body was found inside the locked unit.

Last Friday, Nomura and her sons — Haruto (16), Rikuto (11), and Reo (9) — were found unresponsive inside their two-story home in Nishitokyo. They were later confirmed dead. The discovery was made after Nomura’s husband returned home to find the residence locked from the inside with a door chain and subsequently alerted the police.

Nomura and her eldest son, Haruto, were found on the floor of a second-floor room next to a bloodied hatchet and knife. All three sons, except the youngest, sustained stab or cut wounds, officers said. Rikuto and Reo were located on a bed in a nearby room, showing signs of strangulation.

Police are investigating the possibility that the case was a murder-suicide. The family’s home is situated in a quiet residential neighborhood about 1.5 kilometers north of Hoya Station on the Seibu Railway’s Ikebukuro Line.