Suspect says another man in his van killed 13-year-old girl

An unemployed 45-year-old man who has been charged with abandoning the body of a 13-year-old girl in the parking lot of a distribution center in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, on the night of Aug 13, has told police that a male passenger in his minivan killed the girl, but he has refused to name the man.

Koji Yamada, a resident of Neyagawa, was arrested on Friday night for questioning in the murder of Natsumi Hirata, who disappeared along with her 12-year-old classmate Ryoto Hoshino, on Aug 13. Hoshino's body, bound in duct tape, was found about 50 meters from a road in the mountains of nearby Kashiwara city on Friday, Fuji TV reported. An autopsy will be held to determine the cause of death.

Hirata's body was found behind a truck in the parking lot at around 11:35 p.m. on Aug 13. Her hands were tied with duct tape, which was also wrapped around her head. She was wearing a white shirt, black tank top, denim shorts and navy knee-high socks, but she was not wearing any shoes. There were at least 30 cuts on her body, some as deep as to the bone. An autopsy revealed that she had been suffocated, probably about four or five hours before her body was found.

Yamada was quoted by police as saying he called out to Hirata near Keihan Neyagawashi Station, and said he would give her lift, but he denied killing her, Fuji TV reported. He said another man in the front passenger seat beat the girl in the back seat and that Hirata was dead before he knew it. He said the other man dumped the body in the parking lot and then took off. However, Yamada has refused to say anything further about the man, nor has he said anything about Hoshino's fate.

Yamada also said he had never met Hirata or Hoshino before.

Yamada surfaced as a suspect after police analyzed street surveillance camera footage along the national route between Keihan Neyagawashi Station, where Hirata and Hoshino were last seen on the morning of Aug 13, and the parking lot of the distribution center where Hirata's body was left.

The license plate of each vehicle caught on camera was checked one by one and an ash-gray minivan appeared to resemble the one that was seen going in and out of the parking lot an hour before Hirata's body was found. That led police to Yamada.

On Friday morning, police started following Yamada's minivan, which went to the mountainous area in Kashiwara. After Yamada left, police searched the area and found Hoshino's body, Fuji reported. Police then tracked the minivan and apprehended Yamada while he was stopped at a traffic light in Osaka on Friday night.

On Saturday, police said they have also obtained surveillance camera footage from a convenience store in Kashiwara, taken at around 12:35 p.m. on the day the two children disappeared, that shows Yamada buying duct tape.

Yamada was seen again on security camera footage, entering the elevator at his residence at around 11:30 p.m. that night.

- See more at: newsonjapan.com