Police Find Kumamoto Woman was Murdered

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:09 JST, June 1, 2023

A 29-year-old woman found dead in a building in Chuo Ward, Kumamoto, died from suffocation, Kumamoto prefectural police said Wednesday.

The police established an investigation headquarters at the Kumamoto Chuo Police Station, after judging the case to involve murder and the abandonment of a body.

According to the prefectural police, Arisa Tatsushima, a temporary worker, was found wrapped in a blanket at a vacant unit in a multi-tenant building on Monday evening.

An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be suffocation. Police found no noticeable external injuries to the body nor evidence of strong pressure applied to the neck.

After leaving the workplace for her part-time job at around 1 a.m. Sunday, Tatsushima sent a message to a man whom she lived with that she was coming home. The workplace was different from where she worked as a temporary worker.

She then disappeared, the police said. The police believe she may have been murdered on her way home.