A woman and her parents were served fresh arrest warrants on Monday for allegedly murdering a man who was found decapitated in a hotel in Sapporo, northern Japan, last month, according to local police.
Runa Tamura, 29, and her father, Osamu, a 59-year-old psychiatrist, were first arrested on July 24 on suspicion of mutilating and abandoning a corpse. Runa's mother, Hiroko, 60, was arrested on the same charges the next day.
The police did not reveal whether the family members have admitted to the charges.
The victim, identified as Hitoshi Ura, 62, was found naked and decapitated in a hotel in the Susukino entertainment district on July 2.
The police subsequently discovered his severed head in the bathroom at the Tamura residence, suspecting it was cut off post-mortem.
Ura checked into the hotel at around 10:50 p.m. on July 1 with an individual believed to be Runa. The individual was then seen leaving the hotel alone at about 2 a.m. the following day, according to the police.
Runa, believed to have been the only one at the crime scene, allegedly stabbed the victim several times in the neck in the hotel room, causing hemorrhagic shock, said the police.
Investigators believe Runa and Osamu together purchased a knife and a saw that likely were used in carrying out the crime. Her mother is also suspected as a potential accomplice.
They are looking into possible conflicts or issues between Runa and the victim prior to the incident.
Related coverage:
Family to face murder charges over decapitated man found in Sapporo
Decapitated head in Sapporo case was filmed at home: source
Decapitated man violent in past toward suspected assailant: mother
