Man arrested over death of woman whose body was found in Osaka hotel room

OSAKA — Police in Osaka have arrested a 29-year-old man on suspicion of robbery and murder after a woman’s body was found in a hotel room on Saturday morning.

Police said Yuya Mori, a part-time worker from Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, has partially denied the allegation and quoted him as saying, “I strangled her but I didn’t mean to kill her. And I didn’t steal any money or valuables,” Kyodo News reported.

The arrest warrant alleges that on Friday night, Mori killed the woman, who was in her early 20s, and stole her My Number card and other items.

The incident came to light at around 5 a.m. on Saturday when a man visited a police station and said that "a woman may have been murdered" at a hotel in Namba, Chuo Ward. He explained that "a female acquaintance of mine heard from a man that he had killed someone.”

When police arrived at the hotel, they found a young woman, fully clothed, lying on a bed in a room on the sixth floor. Police said there was discoloration on the woman's neck, and that an autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.

Based on the accounts from those involved and security camera footage from around the hotel, police started a search for Mori. He was found alone in a hotel in Kyoto City and arrested late Saturday.

The hotel where the crime occurred is in the Minami district, a bustling area near Osaka Metro Namba Station, lined with commercial buildings and restaurants.

© Japan Today