A Japanese woman whose body was found next to a waterfall in Brazil’s Goias state died as a result of a blow to the head, probably from a blunt rock, the detective leading the investigation said.
The 18-year-old Brazilian man who confessed to killing Hitomi Akamatsu claimed in his first interrogation that he had used her blouse to strangle her, detective Isabella Joy told reporters by telephone.
A forensic report from Goias state’s crime lab that came back on Friday indicated cranial trauma was the actual cause of death.
The man, who local press has identified as Rafael Lima da Costa, is under preventative arrest for homicide resulting from a robbery and for hiding a cadaver.
Akamatsu moved to the city of Abadiania, Brazil, to seek treatment for her skin cancer which she said she had gotten from the Fukushima incident in Japan, Joy said.
She remained there after the arrest of the spiritual healer known as Joao de Deus, or John of God, who drew people from all over the world to his small city two hours west of Brazil’s capital with promises that he could treat everything from depression to cancer.
Last year, he was found guilty of committing multiple rapes.
Akamatsu’s body was found in a ditch beside the waterfall after her friend reported her missing, which prompted authorities to send out a search party with tracker dogs.
Security camera footage showed Da Costa following Akamatsu and later returning with her blouse over his shoulder, Joy said.
While the woman’s blouse has not been located, other clothes of hers as well as an exercise mat were found burned inside an abandoned home near the waterfall.
Her underwear was also found in the woods and has been sent for forensic analysis.
Almost one week had passed between Akamatsu’s death and the day her body was found.
The time elapsed combined with the humid environment caused fast decomposition and made it impossible to confirm whether she had been raped, which Da Costa has not confessed to having done, Joy said.
Da Costa said he had intended to rob somebody to pay off a drug debt and that she had passed him by.
Another interrogation is expected next week.
The man does not have a lawyer and would most likely be appointed a public defender, Joy said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
RSS