SAPPORO – The headless body of a man has been found at a hotel in Sapporo on Japan’s northernmost main island, with police continuing to search Tuesday for a person seen entering the victim’s room with him.
The victim was also found naked and police believe both the head and the clothes were taken away by the person in a bid to prevent identification of the body, according to investigative sources.
The victim, whose body was found Sunday, remains unidentified, they said.
Security cameras at the short-stay “love hotel” caught the two entering the premises at around 10:50 p.m. Saturday and the person leaving the room alone at around 2:00 a.m. Sunday with a suitcase, according to the sources.
The person was small and wore a large brimmed hat and women’s clothing, they said.
The victim, who is estimated to be aged between 45 and 70 and between 160 centimeters and 170 cm in height, had surgical scars where his appendix had been removed, according to the police.
An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was hemorrhagic shock and that his head was severed after death.
The police suspect the man was killed inside the bathroom, where his body was found by an employee on Sunday afternoon.
The incident occurred in downtown Susukino where many love hotels are located.
A man in the neighborhood expressed shock Sunday, saying, “I have lived in this area for about 15 years, but I have never heard of an incident like this.”
