A suspected serial rapist who made headlines after briefly escaping from the Niigata District Court in June is now suspected of involvement in three alleged murders in Niigata Prefecture.

Police sources said Friday that items have been found which may implicate Shogo Kina, 31, in the suspicious deaths of two women in the city of Shibata.

The body of one of the two women was found in September in one of four cars found burning in a parking lot about 3 km from Kina's home, while the corpse of another was found in a river in the city in April, three months after she went missing.