Police in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, have arrested a man on suspicion of abandoning the body of a Vietnamese girl last month. The suspect is the head of the parents’ association at her elementary school.
The body of 9-year-old Le Thi Nhat Linh from the city of Matsudo was found in grass near a drainage canal in nearby Abiko City on March 26th. She had been strangled.
On Friday morning, the police arrested 46-year-old Yasumasa Shibuya. The Matsudo resident is said to work for a real estate leasing business. Investigators say DNA samples obtained from the crime scene matched those of the suspect.
The city’s board of education and other sources say Shibuya is the head of the parents’ association at the girl’s school and a member of a volunteer patrol group that helps children get to school safely.
The girl went missing after she left home for school on March 24th. Her body was discovered 2 days later.
What are believed to be her school bag and clothes were found on the bed of the Tone River, about 20 kilometers from the body.
The police plan to question Shibuya on suspicion of murder.
A 75-year-old woman who lives near the suspect says she is shocked to hear that someone from the neighborhood was involved in the crime.
A man whose son was in the same class as the victim says he is stunned to learn that the head of the parents’ association has been arrested. He adds that the slain girl must have known the suspect.
Source and image: NHK
Join the Conversation