Overview

• Investigators recovered a metal bat stained with blood from a Shinjuku rental space linked to suspects in the July 1 body abandonment case.
• Forensic analysis matched the blood on the bat to 35-year-old Soichiro Naruse, whose death was caused by head trauma.
• Surveillance footage shows suspect Seiichiro Kita purchasing the bat in March and carrying it to the rental space on the day Naruse’s body was discovered.
• Co-defendant Toshihiro Nashimoto has admitted helping dispose of the victim’s body but denies knowledge of how the fatal assault occurred.
• Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Criminal Investigation Division 1 is now probing the suspects’ roles in the death to determine potential homicide charges.