Man Arrested Over Alleged Murder Of Ex-Girlfriend In Tokyo

TOKYO, Jan 21 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- A man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly killing his former girlfriend at her apartment northeast of Tokyo on New Year's Eve, police said, after the victim had consulted police about being stalked by him,  Kyodo News Agency reported.

Takumi Ouchi, 28, is suspected of hitting Haruka Komatsumoto on the head with a blunt object and stabbing her in the neck with a bladed weapon sometime between 5:20 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. on Dec. 31 in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, the police said. She died from post-traumatic shock.

The victim, a 31-year-old nail artist, made an anonymous call to the Mito Police Station on Dec. 27 seeking advice, but a police officer on duty at the time determined there was no urgency to respond to the case, judging from her calm tone on the phone.

Urged to visit the police station, Komatsumoto simply said she would do so "later," giving the police another reason to believe the situation was not urgent.

Ouchi, who lives in Ibaraki, has denied the charge and was quoted as saying the allegations were "groundless" and that he "does not know anything about it."

After the two ended their relationship in 2024, Ouchi tried to contact her but found that she had blocked his phone number and his social media accounts, prompting him to try to locate her by asking an acquaintance, according to the police.

According to the police, the victim was pregnant and living with her husband, who found her collapsed and bleeding when he returned home. She was in her loungewear at the time, and the entrance door was unlocked.

There were no signs of her phone or wallet being stolen, the police said.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO