Crime & Courts

Sex Worker Arrested for Allegedly Abandoning Newborn in Closet in Japan; Two More Infant Bodies Found in Home

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The Kagawa prefectural police department

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:01 JST, February 15, 2024

TAKAMATSU — Kagawa prefectural police arrested Ayumi Yamashita, a 35-year-old sex worker employed in Takamatsu, on Wednesday on suspicion of abandoning the body of an infant in her home.

Another two bodies believed to be infants were found in her home, and Yamashita was quoted as saying, “I gave birth to three children and put them in the closet.”

Yamashita is suspected of abandoning the body of an infant around late June last year, according to the police. The body was approximately 45 centimeters in length and was left in a closet of her apartment. She has admitted to the allegation.

The police stated that all the bodies were placed in plastic bags, with no apparent external injuries. The body for which Yamashita was arrested was wrapped in a towel and had decomposed, while the other two had partially skeletonized.