DNA Matching That of Suspect in Abandonment of Couple’s Bodies in Tokyo Found at Couple’s House

The Yomiuri Shimbun

10:33 JST, January 24, 2024

DNA found in bloodstains at a crime scene matches that of a Filipino man who was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of abandoning the bodies of a married couple in Adachi Ward, Tokyo, according to police.

The Metropolitan Police Department believes that Brian Jefferson Dela Cruz, 34, from Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, was injured during a struggle with the couple.

Dela Cruz is an acquaintance of Hazel Ann Morales, 30, a Filipino woman, who has already been arrested on the same charge. He was quoted as saying, “I helped [her].” He was not acquainted with the couple, the police said.

The bodies of the couple were found wrapped in a sheet under the bathroom floor on the first floor of the house. Bloodstains were found at the house, in which the police detected DNA matching that of the couple as well as of Dela Cruz.

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