U.S. Marine Arrested for Allegedly Killing Woman in Okinawa

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Oct. 4 (Jiji Press)--Okinawa Prefectural Police on Sunday arrested a U.S. Marine for allegedly killing a 39-year-old woman in a hotel room in Naha, the capital of the southernmost Japan prefecture, and stealing her belongings.

The 20-year-old serviceman, Devin Jacob Ballard, who is stationed at the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air base in Ginowan, Okinawa, has denied the allegation, telling investigators that he does not know anything about it.

The police are investigating the details of the case, including the relationship between the suspect and the victim.

According to the police, Ballard allegedly killed the woman of unknown occupation from Naha in the hotel room in the city's Wakasa district between around 2:10 a.m. and 4:15 a.m. on Saturday and stole her backpack, wallet and other belongings.

An autopsy found that the woman died of suffocation after being strangled.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]