This aerial photo taken from a Mainichi Shimbun helicopter on Oct. 14, 2021, shows the area around where the family of three were found collapsed in Niihama, Ehime Prefecture. (Mainichi)

       MATSUYAMA -- A man found carrying a knife stained with what appears to be blood has been arrested on suspicion of violating the swords and firearms control law, after three members of the same family in west Japan were discovered stabbed to death on Oct. 13.

       According to Ehime Prefectural Police, the deceased were identified as married couple Tomoyoshi and Aiko Iwata, both 80, and their son Kenichi, 51. An investigative source has told the Mainichi Shimbun the attack appears to have taken just minutes.

       Local police received an emergency call at around 5:38 p.m. on Oct. 13 from Aiko, who told them, "A man barged in and is arguing." Police officers rushed to the scene in the prefectural city of Niihama and found two men and a woman stabbed. The three were transported to hospital but were later confirmed dead.

       Police reportedly found Aiko and Kenichi collapsed inside the house, while Tomoyoshi was discovered in front of the house's entrance. The house is in a quiet residential area about 4 kilometers northeast of JR Niihama Station.

       Ehime Prefectural Police arrested Satoru Kono, 53, of no fixed address or occupation, on the spot at 5:46 p.m. -- just minutes after the emergency call -- at the home of the deceased for possession of a knife with a blade of about 13 centimeters. Kono reportedly did not resist arrest.

       Kono is said to have admitted to the allegations, saying, "I had a knife because I intended to kill them." At the time of his arrest, he had a cut of about 2 centimeters on his right arm. He had apparently worked with Kenichi and knew the family.

       The Mainichi Shimbun learned from residents and other sources that Aiko reportedly consulted her friends about problems the family was having. One neighbor in her 70s said someone she knows was approached by Aiko about them, and that she had heard that police had come to see Aiko at home some days before.

       In May and September 2019, someone going by the name Kono wrote a post defaming Kenichi on an internet forum. Prefectural police are investigating the case with a possibility of upgrading the charges against Kono to murder, and believe there had been a problem between him and the victims.

       On Oct. 14, a day after the killings, investigators were seen entering and exiting the property now cordoned off with police tape. A 70-year-old woman who lives nearby said, "Aiko was a neat person who always kept her home clean. Tomoyoshi was the kind of gentle person who, if you saw him, he'd say hello to you."

       (Japanese original by Tomoe Saito, Hiroyuki Yamanaka, Ryo Endo and Yuichi Nakagawa, Matsuyama Bureau)

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0