Police officers from a Chiba Prefecture station postponed investigating a suspected case of assault and stalking and instead took a three-day pleasure trip to Hokkaido, shortly before the suspect allegedly killed two people, officials said Thursday.
Makoto Yamashita, 58, whose daughter was living in Chiba Prefecture, went to Narashino Police Station on Dec. 6 to file a complaint about a man he claimed had stalked and assaulted his daughter. He was asked to wait a week before submitting his request for an investigation.
Yamashita's wife, Mitsuko, 56, and mother, Hisae, 77, were stabbed to death at their home in Saikai, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Dec. 16.