Shizuoka police on Tuesday evening detained a 27-year-old man who had been put on a wanted list on suspicion of killing his grandparents and aunt on Sunday.
Police said Koichi Katayama was apprehended in the city of Tottori on Tuesday. He was found with injuries to his abdomen and is currently hospitalized in the city but is in a stable condition.
Katayama has admitted to the crime, NHK reported, citing investigative sources. Police plan to formally arrest him once he recovers from his injuries.
Katayama’s grandparents, Shoichi Shibuya, 87, his wife Ikuko Shibuya, 81, and their second-eldest daughter, Rumiko Shibuya, 52, were found collapsed in their home in the city of Kikugawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Sunday afternoon.
The family home was shared by the three deceased as well as the couple’s eldest daughter, who was out at the time of the incident. According to police, Katayama is the son of the eldest daughter and did not live with the family.
At around 2:25 p.m. Sunday, the eldest daughter received a call from Rumiko Shibuya, reporting that a man was acting violently in the house. The eldest daughter immediately notified the police.
Police say Ikuko Shibuya was able to speak when they arrived, and information from her and the eldest daughter led to Katayama being identified as a suspect. The three victims then were pronounced dead at the hospital.