SAPPORO - A zookeeper on the northern main island of Hokkaido was served a fresh arrest warrant Friday for allegedly killing his wife before disposing of her body in a zoo incinerator, according to police.
Tatsuya Suzuki, 33, is suspected of murdering his wife Yui, 33, at their house in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, on March 31. He has admitted to the allegation, telling the police that he strangled her with a rope because he had become "frustrated" by her demands.
Suzuki was arrested in late April for damaging a corpse and local prosecutors indicted him on the same charge on May 21.
The Hokkaido prefectural police have seized several ropes from the zoo, suspecting they may have been used to murder the wife.
Multiple bones identified as those of the wife were found in the incinerator in the animal crematorium at Asahiyama Zoo, according to the police.
Suzuki worked as usual at the municipal zoo on March 31, the day he allegedly killed his wife between around 6:30 p.m. and 8:35 p.m.
Relatives of the victim reported on April 23 that they had been unable to contact her since around late March, according to the local police and an investigative source.
Suzuki told the police during voluntary questioning prior to his arrest that he had brought his wife's body to the zoo and burned it there, they said.
Security camera footage showed Suzuki arriving by car and unloading a large item near the gate for zoo workers at around 9 p.m. on March 31, and the police suspect he spent a few hours burning the body in the incinerator.
