Prosecutors on Wednesday indicted a 46-year-old man on charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with two separate knife attacks in Hyogo Prefecture that took place in 2006 and 2007 involving two elementary school girls.
The Kobe District Public Prosecutor’s Office revealed that Kunihiko Katsuta — who is already serving a prison sentence for the murder of another young girl — has been indicted for the 2007 killing of a second-grade girl in the city of Kakogawa, Hyogo Prefecture.
Katsuta also faces attempted murder charges for a 2006 attack on a fourth-grade girl in the city of Tatsuno, also in Hyogo Prefecture, that left her seriously injured.
Prosecutors allege that on Oct. 16, 2007, Katsuta fatally stabbed the second-grade girl multiple times in the abdomen near her home. A year earlier, on Sept. 28, 2006, he allegedly attacked the fourth grader on a street in Tatsuno as she was returning home from a cram school, stabbing her several times in the abdomen and chest.
Both cases remained unsolved for years due to a lack of physical evidence, including the weapon used. Investigators began to connect the attacks while probing similar cases, eventually identifying Katsuta as a suspect.
During voluntary questioning, Katsuta admitted to his involvement, and authorities determined his statements aligned with the details of the cases.
Hyogo Prefectural Police arrested Katsuta last November for the Tatsuno attack and rearrested him for the Kakogawa killing shortly after. According to sources close to the investigation, Katsuta has remained silent following his arrest.
The prosecutor’s office began a three-month psychiatric evaluation in December to assess Katsuta’s mental state, which concluded on Friday. He was deemed mentally competent, leading to his indictment.
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