Saitama Prefectural Police have arrested a police sergeant on suspicion of killing a 58-year-old unemployed man at the victim's home in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, earlier this month, sources said Saturday.

Shota Nakano, 31, worked at the Asaka police station until March and is currently stationed at the Urawa station in the city of Saitama, the prefectural capital.

"I was the one who strangled the man with a rope," police quoted Nakano as saying, although he denied any intention to kill.

Investigators said DNA from residue collected at the crime scene matched Nakano's DNA.

He is alleged to have visited the home of the victim, Toshiharu Terao, when the man's father died last October to investigate the body, the sources said.

Terao's body was found at his home on Sept. 4 by his younger brother with marks on the neck. An autopsy determined Terao was suffocated.

Police questioned Nakano on a voluntary basis and determined that he was involved in the killing, the sources said.

Kohei Kishi, head of the Saitama Prefectural Police, apologized on Saturday over the incident.