HIROSHIMA (TR) – Hiroshima Prefectural Police are investigating a suspected murder-suicide after an elderly couple was found dead at their residence in the town of Sera early Monday, reports TV Asahi (Oct. 12).
At approximately 12:20 a.m., a relative placed an emergency call to police, reporting that a person was “collapsed, bleeding, and unconscious” at the property in the Oguni area.
Upon arrival, officers found 65-year-old Harumi Mukaitani collapsed and bleeding from a wound to her neck. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mukaitani resided at the home with her husband, who is in his 70s. He was subsequently discovered dead, having hanged himself on the grounds of the residence.
Investigators recovered a bladed object from inside the home believed to be the murder weapon. Police are currently treating the case as a likely murder-suicide (muri-shinju) and are continuing to investigate the circumstances leading up to the incident.