Hyogo prefectural police confirmed Thursday that a body pulled from the Nakagawa River in Tatsuno City on Wednesday has been identified as 42-year-old Kenji Oyama, the prime suspect in the May slayings of a 74-year-old woman and her 52-year-old daughter in Tatsuno.
An autopsy indicates Oyama likely died around May 20, though a definitive cause of death could not be determined. Multiple facial and body injuries appeared consistent with trauma sustained while the body was swept downstream, police said.
The body was found floating about 12 kilometers south of the crime scene at about 10:20 a.m. Wednesday. He wore black trousers with white stripes similar to clothing seen on the suspect in security-camera footage taken after the killings.
Near a bridge south of the scene, investigators recovered a T-shirt, cigarette butts and manga believed to belong to Oyama. At a vacant house that had been his family home near the victims’ residence, officers found a shirt, pants and a bloodstained hoodie, suggesting he had entered and left the property.
Oyama had been wanted in the May 13 killings of Sumie Tanaka, 74, and her daughter Chihiro, 52. On May 16, three days before the victims’ bodies were found, police encountered Oyama sleeping on a street in Takasago City; he reportedly confessed to killing someone. Authorities took him in for questioning but, because his account was unclear and he had no weapon, they were unable to confirm a crime and escorted him back to the neighborhood before releasing him.
The victims’ bodies were discovered at about 9:30 a.m. on May 19 after an acquaintance of Chihiro reported no contact with the household. Officers found one woman near the entrance and the other in a hallway; both had suffered multiple stab wounds to the chest and neck. A wallet with cash, a bankbook and a smartphone believed to belong to the victims remained in the house.
Police identified Oyama through forensic analysis of seized evidence and security footage and placed him on a nationwide wanted list. There were subsequent sightings at train stations and other locations, but his whereabouts remained unknown until the river discovery on Wednesday.