The seven suspects being held in connection with the confessed beating death of a 16-year-old girl whose decomposing corpse was found July 13 on a mountain in Hiroshima Prefecture may soon face murder charges, police said Sunday.

The suspects, two 16-year-old boys, four 16-year-old girls and Taihei Seto, 21, are being held on an initial charge of dumping a body. Police believe the victim, whose name, like the other minors, has not been released, was beaten in a minivan driven by Seto on the way to Haigamine Peak in Kure and further assaulted until she died and her corpse was left on the mountain on June 28.

The slaying came to light on July 12 when one of the girls, from Higashi Ward in the city of Hiroshima, and her mother went to a local police station, where the girl claimed she carried out the slaying and dumped the body on her own. The victim had been a classmate of hers at a vocational school.