- 18 Jan 2005
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There have been a number of incidents of elderly people being tied up in Yokohama City and Chiba Prefecture, with some dying. The homes that were targeted had "certain things in common."
■Elderly man dies in Yokohama, investigated as murder Could the elderly have been targeted again?
An elderly man was found collapsed in a house in Yokohama, and was later confirmed dead. Police are investigating it as a homicide.
Neighborhood resident: "(Q. What kind of people lived there?) There was a nice old man and old woman who lived there."
"(Q. How many people do you live with?) I think there were two of us. I have children, so it was a shock that someone I knew passed away."
A neighbor called 911 around 9:30 a.m. on the 16th.
Call 110: ``The window next to the front door is left open. It's cold, so I wonder if something happened.''
Neighboring resident: ``The house at the scene was at the very back, so I don't know what the situation was, but the glass was broken.''
"(Q. Have you seen the scene?) There is a parking lot in my house, but there are two or three layers of restriction lines, so you can't get in unless you have something to do. You can't go in."
When police arrived, they found an elderly man lying unconscious inside the house, and he was later pronounced dead.
According to police, the man's hands and feet were bound and had injuries that appeared to have been caused by an assault, as well as bleeding.
Additionally, the window next to the entrance had been broken.
An image seen from above. Police are searching the area around the entrance. I can see white curtains in the window next to the entrance.
The scene is Tetemachi, Aoba Ward, Yokohama City. This is a corner of a residential area about 2 kilometers northwest of Ichigao Station on the Tokyu Denentoshi Line.
Neighboring resident: "A place where farmland and residential areas are scattered"
"(Q. Quiet?) Quiet is quiet. There aren't that many people passing by."
"There are many relatively narrow roads, and the back is thick with trees, so it's difficult to get through. It's narrow enough for about one car to pass through. I think it's a dead end beyond that. It's more like a private house or a crowded area."
Police suspect that the man was killed by someone and are investigating the details of the circumstances.
■Robbery at home of elderly person in Chiba, car also stolen Incidents of elderly people being tied up have also occurred in Shirai City, Chiba Prefecture.
A police officer conducts forensic work at a house surrounded by fields and forests.
A woman in her 70s called 110: ``While I was sleeping, I was blindfolded, hit on my body, and demanded money.''
Two men broke into the house. They tied up a mother in her 70s and her daughter in her 40s who lived in this house with adhesive tape, blindfolded them, and then assaulted them. The men allegedly committed the crime while receiving instructions over the phone.
The men then stole about 200,000 yen in cash and a car, split into two cars, and fled the scene.
People living nearby can't hide their surprise.
Neighborhood resident: ``I think it was around 6 a.m. I woke up to the siren of an ambulance and that siren of a police car.I was shocked and scared that something like that could happen nearby.''
"(Q. How do you get along with your neighbors?) Most of the people who live there know each other. The people who were affected this time also meet up on walks."
"(Q. Is it quiet around here?) There aren't many buildings, and once you get away from the road, it's really quiet."
"I walked my dog around the corner after 5 a.m. and came back. So I'm glad I didn't have to go."
"(Q. Isn't there a lot of cars passing by to begin with?) People other than residents don't pass by that much. That's why you can tell it's a rare car."
The parent and child were injured, but their injuries are not life-threatening.
■We also learned something new about the commonality of the series of bondage incidents in the Kanto region.
According to investigators, what appears to be the men was captured on a security camera at a convenience store near the scene.
Since August of this year, there have been a number of incidents in the Tokyo metropolitan area in which dark part-timers were the perpetrators.
