The male suspect seen walking with a 4-year-old boy who was kidnapped here last week and later found murdered may be a junior high school student, investigative sources said Tuesday.
The naked body of Shun Tanemoto, who disappeared from a Nagasaki electronics shop on the evening of July 1, was found on the road by a parking garage about 4 km away the following morning. An autopsy indicated that he was thrown from the roof of the eight-story structure.
The sources said police have been analyzing video footage obtained from security cameras positioned along a shopping street about 150 meters from the garage. It shows a child believed to be Tanemoto walking with a youth on the evening he went missing.
By sharpening the video footage, investigators have a relatively clean shot of the youth. Based on his facial features and clothing, he appears to be a junior high school student, the sources said.