A 26-year-old man who was arrested last week on suspicion of abandoning the legless body of his wife in the sea off Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, said he used their wedding money to pay off his debts, police said.

Police said Seiya Taira has admitted to severing the legs of his 26-year-old wife Fubuki so he could put her body in a suitcase. He then took the suitcase and went by taxi to a beach and dumped Fubuki's body in the sea at around 2:15 a.m. last Thursday. The body was found about six hours later on the shore by a jogger.

Taira turned himself in to police last Thursday night, saying he was overcome with guilt. He was initially charged with abandoning a body but police said Tuesday they plan to also charge him with murder after an autopsy revealed that Fubuki had been strangled. Her right leg and a blood-stained suitcase were found in the couple's apartment, police said.

Police said that during questioning, Taira told them he owed several million yen in payments to a financial institution. In addition, he said that he had been lying to his wife for several months that he was working when, in fact, he didn’t have a regular job.

In order to repay his debt, Taira withdrew cash using his wife’s credit card without her permission and used up all of the money that was initially saved for their wedding ceremony and honeymoon.

© Japan Today