Arrest after dismembered bodies found in flat

JAPANESE police have found nine dismembered bodies in an apartment south west of Tokyo, in an apparent serial killing case that is transfixing and horrifying the nation.

Police were working yesterday to identify the victims after the man who lived there, 27-year-old Takahiro Shiraishi, confessed to cutting them up and hiding them in coldstorage cases, some covered with cat litter, a police spokesman said.

The bodies, in varying stages of decomposition, were found on Monday while police were investigating the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman, the spokesman said.

The woman’s brother reported her missing last week, he said.

The gruesome case captured attention in a country known for public safety, topping news with reports that showed the building where the suspect lived in a small studio apartment.

It was cordoned off by yellow police tape, its balcony covered with blue plastic sheets to block the view as investigators went in and out.

The missing woman is thought to be one of the eight women and one man who were dismembered and hidden in the apartment from late August to late October.

A toolbox and saw found in Shiraishi’s apartment may have been used to dismember the bodies, the police official said.

Police were still investigating the suspect’s motives, said the spokesman.

It was unclear who the other eight victims might be, or why it is that neighbours who said they had noticed foul smells coming from the apartment had not raised any alarms.