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The suspect Shibuya Yasumasa -ASAHI SHINBUM/VNA Photo |
The man is Shibuya Yasumasa, who works in the real estate sector and is Linh’s neighbor.
Earlier, the police issued a wanted notice for the man and arrested him immediately after investigation revealed Shibuya Yasumasa’s DNA test results matched the DNA on Linh’s personal belongings.
On March 24 this year, nine-year-old Linh went missing after she left home in Matsudo City to go to school as usual.
Her body was found at 6.45am on March 26 in a field near a drainage ditch in Abiko, Chiba Prefecture, some 10km from her house.
A day later, her school bag was found in an area near the Tone River in Ibaraki Province, which is some 20km from Abiko.
Investigators said Linh’s belongings were found scattered in places which were even not accessed by locals.
They believed Linh was kidnapped right after leaving home at 8am on March 24. The road where she was abducted was located in a residential quarter with few people passing by.
Following analysis, the Japanese police said the suspect clearly seemed to be familiar with the locality’s terrain.
Earlier, the police received a video showing a man following a girl who resembled Linh; the man appeared to call out to her.
An elderly volunteer was quoted by JNN Channel as saying Linh may have been forced by the suspect to travel on a shortcut that few people used. If the suspect did not know the terrain clearly, he/she could not have driven to that place.
Besides an injury on her head and garrote marks on her neck, Linh also had an injury on her wrist and scratches on her body.
Linh’s case has caused alarm and high dudgeon among the Japanese people. Many parents worry for the safety of their children, who often go to school on their own every day.
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