Toya Kimura, an employee of the nursing home until July 2024, was arrested the previous day and admitted to entering the five-story nursing home in Tsurugashima, Saitama Prefecture, using a security code. Police believe he was able to open the electronic lock from his time working there, as the four-digit code had not been changed, investigative sources said.
Kimura was sent to prosecutors over the murder of Toshiko Kobayashi, an 89-year-old resident of the fifth floor, who was stabbed. Kimura has also hinted at killing the other victim, Akiko Uei, 89, who lived on the fourth floor.
The sources said security camera footage showed him walking around inside the facility holding a knife, which police say he purchased before the attack.
Acting on information from the suspect, police found a bag on a street in the city of Tsurugashima containing a knife, a face mask and clothing believed to have been worn during the attack.
The killings were reported when a nursing home worker made an emergency call early Wednesday morning. Kimura was later arrested on the street in the same city after fleeing the scene.
