The owner of a secondhand goods store who is suspected of killing an employee in 2004 has admitted disposing of the alleged victim's bones in an appliance crusher, investigative sources said Thursday.

Shinya Nakao, 47, and his wife Chisa, 45, from Chikugo, Fukuoka Prefecture, were rearrested Monday for allegedly assaulting 22-year-old Takashi Hidaka, who was reported missing in July 2004.

"I ground down the bones using a machine we use at our shop for ripping apart electronics and metal waste," Shinya was quoted as saying.