Man Arrested for Stabbing Teenage Girl to Death at Entrance of Her Apartment in Saitama City

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:37 JST, April 15, 2025

A 24-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of killing a 15-year-old girl in Sakura Ward, Saitama, according to police.

At around 8:20 p.m. on Monday, police received an emergency call saying the caller’s younger sister had been stabbed with a knife. Police officers found a girl, later identified as Rena Tegara, at the entrance of the apartment where she had lived.

Police said the suspect, Hiroyuki Taniuchi, allegedly stabbed her in the complex of her apartment at around 8:15 p.m. after she had entered the apartment complex. She was found with multiple wounds on her body seemingly made by a knife and brought to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Investigators found a knife with blood on it at the scene. According to investigators, a witness reported seeing the girl being beaten up by a man.

Investigators apprehended Taniuchi, who had blood on his clothes about 1.2 kilometers from the scene at around 8:35 p.m. on Monday.

The scene is a residential area about 2 kilometers west of JR Minami-Yono Station. On Tuesday morning, police set up a special investigation team comprising 50 investigators to investigate the case.

A 19-year-old resident of the apartment said, “I’ve never imagined such a incident would occur in this apartment complex and it’s scary.”