Gunma Police Capture Man Wanted after Murder of Ex-Wife's Mother

Maebashi, Gunma Pref., Sept. 28 (Jiji Press)--Police in Gunma Prefecture have arrested a 30-year-old man wanted in connection with a case in which his former wife's 52-year-old mother was murdered and the victim's 26-year-old son was injured in the Gunma city of Ota on Friday.

Riki Mihara was captured in Takasaki, another city in the eastern Japan prefecture, on Sunday. He admitted to attempting to kill the son of Yuka Tezuka, investigative sources said. Gunma police believe Mihara was also involved in the murder of Tezuka.

According to the sources, Mihara's former wife, the 28-year-old daughter of Tezuka, had consulted with police in Gunma and neighboring Tochigi Prefecture several times about Mihara's alleged domestic violence.

On Sept. 19, the daughter reported to a Tochigi police station that Mihara had threatened to kill her mother and brother and then commit suicide. Following the report, the police gave Mihara verbal instructions while advising the daughter to hide in a place he did not know.

However, when the daughter and son returned home on Friday, they encountered Mihara and found Tezuka bleeding and lying on the floor, and Mihara assaulted the son. Tezuka was confirmed dead on the spot. The daughter was unharmed.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]