Doctor and daughter arrested on suspicion of beheading man in Hokkaido hotel

A doctor, his wife and their daughter were arrested this week over the alleged murder of a man whose headless body was found in a hotel in Hokkaido earlier in July.

A human head was found on Monday (July 24) in the home of the suspects, said The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, citing investigative sources.

Runa Tamura, 29, and her father Osamu Tamura, a 59-year-old doctor, were arrested on Monday on suspicion of mutilation, possession and abandonment of a corpse, said The Mainichi Shimbun.

On Tuesday, Runa's 60-year-old mother, Hiroko, was arrested on the same charges.

On July 2, the headless body of 62-year-old Hitoshi Ura was found naked and headless in a hotel room's bathroom in Sapporo's Susukino entertainment district.

Runa and Osamu are suspected of decapitating the man in the hotel, The Asahi Shimbun reported.

They are also suspected of taking the victim's head to another location.

The man had died from a stab wound and was decapitated after his death, said The Asahi Shimbun, citing investigative sources.

There were no signs of a struggle in the room and the victim had no defence wounds, said the report.

The police are trying to determine a motive for the murder and the relationship between the father-and-daughter and Ura, said Kyodo News, adding that the police have declined to say whether the suspects have pleaded guilty to the allegations.

On July 1, Ura and another individual, who is believed to be Runa, checked into the hotel around 10.50pm. A person was seen leaving the hotel alone around 2am on July 2, said Kyodo News, citing the police.

The report said that Osamu is a psychiatrist at a hospital in Sapporo. He is suspected of dropping off and picking up Runa at the hotel.

The police do not believe that Osamu entered the building, said the report.

Ura's body was discovered by a hotel worker who checked the room after he did not check out by the afternoon.

The alleged murder happened in an area where many "love hotels" are located.

ALSO READ: Single mum's dismembered body found in home of married man in Japan

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.