Police arrested a 31-year-old man in the city of Saitama on Monday on suspicion of murdering a then-21-year-old woman from Ibaraki Prefecture seven years ago.
The suspect, Jun Saito, admitted killing the woman, Kaho Miyamoto, saying that he had had a desire to kill people since childhood, according to investigative sources. Saito also said that his motive for the murder was a "simple killing intent itself, and nothing else," the sources said.
The woman's skull was found in Saito's home after he was arrested last month on suspicion of stealing a smartphone from a woman walking in Saitama in August 2024.
Saito is suspected of killing Miyamoto by wringing her neck in his apartment on Jan. 4, 2018.
Saito, who allegedly dismembered her body in his apartment using a knife and saw, was quoted as saying that he had been interested in doing this since childhood and so had some related knowledge.
Two skulls were found in his home, with one identified as Miyamoto's and the other found to have been purchased online by Saito. Other bones were also found, and police are working to identify them.
It has been learned that Miyamoto took a train from Tsuchiura Station in Ibaraki to Omiya Station in Saitama on Jan. 4, 2018, and met Saito. She had suggested suicidal feelings, investigative sources said. After losing contact with her, her family reported her missing to police in Ibaraki.
Saito and Miyamoto came to know each other through social media, and he had her leave a note, the sources said.
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