Bishop Case Sees New Murder Charge Against Suspect

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:28 JST, January 16, 2023

SAITAMA — The suspect in a triple-murder case in Saitama Prefecture have been newly charged with killing one of the victims.

William Ross Bishop Jr., 69, his wife Izumi Morita, 68, and their 32-year-old daughter Sophianna Megumi Morita were found dead at around 7 a.m. on Dec. 25 at the couple’s house in Hanno in the prefecture.

The Saitama prefectural police initially arrested Jun Saito, 40, and sent him to the Saitama District Public Prosecutors Office on suspicion of murdering Bishop. The police have charged Saito with murdering Izumi.

According to investigators, the suspect is thought to have killed Izumi by beating her with a blunt object on the morning of Dec. 25. She died of hemorrhagic shock resulting from a neck injury.

A blunt object, a knife and bloodstained clothing were found at Saito’s house, which is about 60 meters from the crime scene, and DNA from the bloodstains matched that of the three victims. The police will also investigate the murder of Sophianna.