Man, 45, serving life sentence for murder of girl in 2004, charged with second murder

HYOGO (TR) – A 45-year-old man serving a life sentence for the murder of an elementary school girl in Okayama Prefecture two decades ago was arrested last week for the murder of another girl, Jiji Press reports (November). . 29).

In the most recent case, Kunihiko Katsuta is said to have fatally stabbed Yuzuki Unose, a second-grade elementary school student, then seven years old, in the stomach and other parts of her body with a knife near the entrance of her house in Kakogawa City October 16, 2007, 18: 00 p.m.

Police arrested Katsuta on November 27 on suspicion of murder. When asked to comment on the allegations, Katsuta remained silent, police said.

“I brought a change of clothes”

According to investigators, Hyogo police have been voluntarily questioning Katsuta since May. He is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of the first nine-year-old girl in the city of Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture in 2004.

Although he remained silent after his re-arrest, he admitted during voluntary questioning that he was involved in the Kakogawa incident. “I brought a change of clothes with me so that it would not be assumed that I was the same person who went to the crime scene and came back,” he said.

At the time, the suspect lived with his parents about five kilometers from the crime scene. It is believed that he used a bicycle to get there. He also reportedly stated that he had “reconnoitered the area surrounding the crime scene in advance,” leading prefectural police to believe that he carefully planned the attack and targeted a girl he did not know.

So far, police have linked Katsuta to three cases.

He was arrested by police earlier this month on suspicion of attempted murder in the stabbing of a third girl.

At around 6:20 p.m. on September 28, 2006, Katsuta is said to have repeatedly stabbed the third girl, aged 9, with a knife in the city of Tatsuno, seriously injuring her. The girl suffered serious injuries that took two months to heal, police said earlier.