Woman, 69, arrested for 1999 Nagoya housewife murder
Police on Friday arrested a 69-year-old woman for the alleged murder of a housewife in Nagoya in 1999, the capital of the central Japan prefecture of Aichi.
According to the Aichi Prefectural Police, Kumiko Yasufuku, a part-time worker in Nagoya, turned herself in at a police station in the city on Thursday afternoon. The DNA type of Yasufuku matched that of the blood that was collected at the crime site and is believed to belong to a person responsible for the murder.
The police arrested her on Friday evening. She admitted the allegations against her, saying, "That's correct."
The suspect is alleged to have killed Namiko Takaba, 32, by stabbing her several times in the neck and other parts of her body in a room on the second floor of an apartment in Nagoya's Nishi Ward on Nov. 13, 1999. Takaba died of blood loss.
Investigations found that the incident apparently occurred around noon. The owner of the apartment found Takaba lying face down around 2 p.m. and called an ambulance. She is thought to have defended herself, with injuries on her hands. Numerous bloodstains were left in the living room and the washroom.
Takaba's 2-year-old son, who was at the crime scene, was safe.
A woman believed to be aged between 40 and 50, and apparently with an injured hand, was witnessed around the apartment. Type B blood, different from Takaba's type, was detected in the room where she was found lying.
The prefectural police made public in 2015 and 2020 the suspect's portraits drawn based on eye-witness descriptions. In total, the police have interviewed more than 5,000 people and mobilised over 100,000 officers.
Takaba's husband, Satoru, 69, worked with other crime victims for the abolition of the statute of limitations for murder and other serious crimes, which was then repealed in 2010. In 2020, the National Police Agency made the case subject to rewards of up to 3 million yen.
1999 Nagoya Murder Suspect Initially Refused DNA Test
The suspect in the 1999 murder of a housewife in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, had initially refused to undergo DNA profiling before surrendering to police, investigative sources said Saturday.
The Aichi prefectural police questioned the suspect, 69-year-old Kumiko Yasufuku, voluntarily several times this year after investigators identified her as a possible participant in the murder. She gave a statement on Thursday hinting at her involvement, according to the sources.
Yasufuku was arrested on Friday for allegedly killing Namiko Takaba, 32, by stabbing her multiple times in the neck and other parts of her body in a room on the second floor of an apartment in Nagoya's Nishi Ward on Nov. 13, 1999.
It was also learned that Yasufuku was a high school classmate of Takaba's husband, Satoru, 69, and that they were in the same soft tennis club. The suspect is believed to have had no acquaintance with Takaba.
According to investigators, the suspect is believed to have sustained an injury during the attack on Takaba. Bloodstains were collected at the crime scene.
Yasufuku emerged as a possible perpetrator this year. Investigators questioned her several times and requested DNA samples, which she initially refused before recently providing one.
Police arrested her after her DNA type matched that of the bloodstains at the crime scene.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
