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DNA Match Leads to Arrest in 1999 Nagoya Housewife Killing

Investigators are reviewing a decades-old connection to the victim’s husband as they work to establish motive.

Overview

  • Aichi Prefectural Police arrested 69-year-old Anfuku Kumiko on October 31 on suspicion of fatally stabbing Takaha Namiko in a Nishi-ku apartment in 1999.
  • Forensic testing linked biological material preserved from the scene to a DNA sample Anfuku provided on October 30 after initially refusing during voluntary interviews that began in August.
  • In police questioning, Anfuku said she had felt anxious every day for 26 years and voiced remorse toward the victim, according to investigative sources.
  • Police say Anfuku and Takaha had no prior acquaintance as they examine reports that Anfuku and the victim’s husband were high school classmates in the same soft-tennis club.
  • The victim’s husband addressed reporters outside the Nagoya West police station on November 4 as authorities continue to investigate motive and corroborate the case facts.