A 25-year-old man has been arrested in Chile on suspicion of robbing and murdering a Japanese professor in Santiago, a senior police official said.
Christopher Quijada has remained silent during questioning about the killing of Koichiro Morita, 58, a professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, the official said.
Morita was found unconscious Monday outside his apartment in the capital and confirmed dead after being rushed to a hospital. His wallet, cellphone and ID card were among missing personal effects.
Police had been searching for the suspect assuming that he acted alone after a caretaker at Morita's apartment building reported seeing a young man fleeing the scene, the official said.
The suspect has a criminal record and is said to have been repeatedly involved in robberies in the areas around the crime scene.
Morita was sent to Chile as part of an international team constructing the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (Alma) radio telescope, and had been shuttling between Santiago and the project site in the Atacama Desert. Due to legal procedures, it will take some time for Morita's body to be released and transferred to Japan for cremation, sources said.