SAGAMIHARA, KANAGAWA PREF.: A 19-year-old man has been arrested by police in Kanagawa Prefecture following the death of a 17-year-old high school girl whose body was discovered in the early hours of Thursday morning.
According to authorities, the suspect, a house painter from Sagamihara, has admitted to the allegations. Police confirmed that he was previously in a relationship with the victim, identifying him as her former boyfriend.
The teenage girl, a third-year high school student from the neighboring city of Zama, was found lying on a riverbank in Sagamihara at approximately 1:50 a.m. Emergency responders transported her to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Investigators believe the incident occurred several hours earlier, around 9:50 p.m. on Wednesday, at a vacant site in Sagamihara. Police suspect that the man killed the girl by choking her, though the exact cause of death will be confirmed following further examination.
Earlier that day, the girl had informed her mother that she was going out to meet her former boyfriend. When she failed to return home later that evening, her mother contacted police at around 11:50 p.m., prompting an urgent search.
Using GPS data from the victim’s mobile phone, officers were able to trace her location to the area where she was later found. Police subsequently discovered her lying at the vacant site and began an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.
The location where the girl was found is situated approximately 100 meters from Shimomizo Station on the East Japan Railway (JR East) Sagami Line, a relatively quiet area that has now become the focus of a major police inquiry.
Authorities have stated that they will continue to investigate the sequence of events leading up to the incident, including the nature of the relationship between the suspect and the victim, in order to fully establish the motive and circumstances of the alleged crime.
The case has raised renewed concerns over youth violence and relationship-related crimes in Japan, as investigators work to piece together the final moments of the victim’s life.
Further updates are expected as the investigation progresses.
