The body of an alleged double-killer has been found floating in a river after he confessed to murdering a mother and her daughter.
Kenji Oyama, 42, reportedly stabbed his neighbours to death in their home in Japan before telling police “I killed someone”. But police officers did not inform homicide detectives of the bombshell claim and instead released the alleged killer back onto the streets.
They now believe he was the prime suspect in the murder of Sumie Tanaka, 74, and her 52-year-old daughter, Chihiro. Cops allege the pair were killed on May 13 in their home in Tatsuno – but they cannot be certain of the date because their bodies were not discovered until six days later.
View 3 ImagesThere wasn’t enough evidence against him(Image: Getty Images)
Three days before the women were found dead, Oyama told officers “I killed someone” and mentioned the murder scene “Tatsuno”. Cops called him in to Takasago Police Station for questioning – but Oyama gave no details about the supposed killing.
They found no weapon, no blood-stained clothing and no ID on the man and so did not the report the confession to homicide detectives.
Instead, police judged his killer claim to be of “low credibility” and released the murderer back onto the streets. Then, just hours later, police made another critical blunder.
At 5am on May 17, a neighbour of the victims alerted police of a man who looked like Oyama lurking around his front door. Police rushed to the scene – but by the time they arrived, Oyama had dissappeared.
View 3 ImagesKenji Oyama from security camera footage earlier this month, as featured in a police wanted poster.(Image: Hyogo Prefectural Police)
They launched a manhunt to find the suspected cutthroat on May 24, five days after the murdered women were discovered. The weeks-long search only ended on Wednesday when Oyama was found lifeless in Nakagawa river. They also discovered a blood-stained coat, shirt and trousers at his father’s vacant home.
Hundreds of officers were deployed as part of the manhunt but, Oyama’s body was only found this week when he was spotted floating in a river about 13 km south of the crime scene.
An autopsy revealed that he had small cuts on his hands and was in a state of starvation. But the exact cause of death is impossible to determine because the body is so decomposed.