NAHA, Okinawa Pref. (Kyodo) A U.S. airman was found dead Sunday with a slashed throat in his apartment in Chatan, Okinawa Prefecture, and the police have opened a murder investigation.

Master Sgt. Curtis Eccleston, 30, posted at the U.S. Kadena Air Base, who was initially reported by the police as holding the rank of technical sergeant, was found bleeding near the entrance of his apartment around noon by an acquaintance from the U.S. military, the police said.

Eccleston had sustained neck wounds from an apparent blade and there were no signs of a scuffle in the apartment, which is near the Kadena base and an entertainment district, according to the police.