The Yamanashi Prefectural Police headquarters is pictured in this file photo. (Mainichi/Ryotaro Ikawa)

       KOFU -- A teenager arrested on suspicion of arson of the residence of a couple in their 50s who were found stabbed to death in the central Japan city of Kofu in October has been served a fresh arrest warrant on suspicion of murder, police said.

       Police suspect that the 19-year-old suspect, also a resident of Kofu, became one-sidedly infatuated with the couple's first daughter, who attended the same school as him, and that after being rejected, he planned to kill the family.

       The teen has reportedly admitted to the allegations, saying, "It started from my affection for their daughter. I intended to kill the whole family."

       After earlier serving the teen an arrest warrant on suspicion of arson of an inhabited structure, the investigation headquarters at Minami Kofu Police Station in Yamanashi Prefecture served him a fresh arrest warrant on Nov. 22 on suspicion of stabbing Seiji Inoue and his wife Fumie at their home in Kofu between about 3:30 a.m. and 3:50 a.m. on Oct. 12, causing them to die from loss of blood.

       Investigators suspect the 19-year-old broke into the home by smashing a glass window on the first floor. He is believed to have attacked the couple as they were sleeping, and stabbed them with knives he bought at multiple outlets including a hardware store. Afterward, he allegedly spread lighter oil around the home and set it on fire in an attempt to cover his tracks.

       Investigators said that the couple had multiple stab wounds, some of which reached their internal organs. It appeared that the couple had tried to resist the attack. Several knives were found in the burned remains of the home, and it is suspected that they were used in the attack.

       The teen also allegedly hit the couple's second daughter with a weapon at their home at about 3:40 a.m. on Oct. 12, leaving her with minor injuries. Police initially arrested him in the predawn hours of the following day on suspicion of assault. He was served the arrest warrant on suspicion of arson of an inhabited structure on Nov. 2.

       (Japanese original by Ayano Tanaka, Kofu Bureau)

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