SAPPORO ¨C Police on Thursday arrested a man for allegedly burning his wife's body in an incinerator at his workplace, the Asahiyama Zoo?in the city of Asahikawa, Hokkaido.
The Hokkaido Police Department arrested Tatsuya Suzuki, a 33-year-old employee of the Asahikawa Municipal Government.
"It's true," he told police about allegedly burning his wife's body.
Suzuki is suspected of carrying the body of his wife, Yui Suzuki, also 33, into the zoo, which the city runs,?and burning her body in the incinerator on or around March 31.
The suspect also made statements suggesting that he killed his wife. The police will investigate the details of the case, including his motives, with?the possibility they may charge him with murder as well.
According to investigative sources, Yui Suzuki's relatives had reported to police that they lost contact with her in late March. The couple were living by themselves.
When the relatives contacted police, they reportedly said Tatsuya Suzuki apparently?told his wife that she would "be burned all up so nothing would be left behind," the sources said.?
During voluntary questioning prior to his arrest, Tatsuya Suzuki told investigators he had abandoned his wife's body in the incinerator at the zoo, and police detected human remains?in the incinerator, which is used to burn dead animals from the zoo.
Due to the police investigation into the incident, Asahiyama Zoo postponed the start of its summer operations from Wednesday to Friday.
"We deeply apologize for causing great concern and inconvenience," Asahikawa Mayor Hirosuke Imazu said in a statement issued after Suzuki's arrest. "We will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation," he added.
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