Fukuoka cops search for Yomiuri salesman over murder of woman

FUKUOKA (TR) – Fukuoka Prefectural Police are hunting for a 72-year-old salesman for the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper after a woman was found murdered in his residence in Fukuoka City, reports TV Asahi (May 9).

At around 10 p.m. on Monday, the body of Miki Otaku, 40, was found by her common-law husband with about 10 stab wounds to the chest and abdomen in Kazuhiro Tsumura’s second-floor residence, located in the Susenji area of Nishi Ward.

The results of an autopsy revealed that she died due to shock as a result of loss of blood, according to police.

Otaku did not return home after departing on Sunday night. The following day, the husband used a GPS app on her smartphone to determine her location as being in the Susenji area, police said.

When he found the door of Tsumura’s residence was open, he went inside and made the grisly discovery in the kitchen, police said.

Officers arriving at the scene seized a knife that is believed to have been used in the crime.

Previously acquainted

Tsumura and Otaku are acquaintances. In security camera footage taken near the residence, the suspect is seen walking with the victim on Sunday night, police said.

Police have placed Tsumura on a nationwide wanted list on suspicion of murder. In an image released publicly, the suspect is shown with a scar on his face. He stands 153 centimeters tall. Persons with information on the case are advised to telephone the Nishi Police Station at 092-805-6110.

Tsumura joined the sales office for the Yomiuri Shimbun in August of last year. “It is truly regrettable that a part-time employee at a sales office of our company is wanted for questioning,” a representative of the public relations division of the western branch of the Yomiuri Shimbun is quoted.