Investigators are seen carrying out items from the home of suspect Shoichi Sato following a search of his home by officers, in the city of Oita on Oct. 16, 2021. (Mainichi/Hyelim Ha)
OITA -- The suspect in the February 2020 killing of a mother and son in the southwest Japan city of Usa, Oita Prefecture, is reported to have been seen washing his bloodstained clothes at a coin laundromat following the incident, a source close to the investigation has told the Mainichi Shimbun.
Shoichi Sato, a 36-year-old company employee in the prefectural capital of Oita, is currently under arrest on suspicion of crimes including robbery and murder. Although Sato is reported to have denied the allegations, Oita Prefectural Police believe that the suspect's clothing was spattered with blood at the time of the killing.
According to investigators, Sato appears to have fled the scene in his passenger car following the incident. Examination of his movements brought up footage from a laundromat security camera that shows Sato washing his clothes.
The deceased are farmer Takako Yamana, then 79, and her eldest son Hiroyuki, then a 51-year-old postal worker. According to the prefectural police, their bodies had numerous stab and slash wounds, and it appears that the suspect would have been covered in a large amount of their blood.
However, police have not been able to confirm any clear remnants of blood from the suspect's seized car. The prefectural police are investigating with the view that Sato changed his clothes after the incident to avoid blood traces being left in the car, among other suspicions.
Investigators also revealed that an examination of trace elements in the car had turned up evidence of the victims' DNA. Sato has reportedly told the prefectural police's investigators, "I would pass nearby (the victims' house) while commuting, but I did not enter the home." He has reportedly denied the allegations.
(Japanese original by Hyelim Ha and Tomohiro Tsujimoto, Oita Bureau)
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