Doctor, his wife and daughter arrested over headless man found in Hokkaido hotel

A doctor, his wife and their daughter have been arrested this week over the alleged murder of a man whose

headless body was found in a hotel in Hokkaido

.

A human head was found on Monday in the home of the suspects, said The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, citing investigative sources.

Ms Runa Tamura, 29, and her father Osamu Tamura, a 59-year-old doctor, were arrested on Monday on suspicion of mutilation, possession and abandonment of a corpse, said the newspaper.

On Tuesday, Ms Tamura’s 60-year-old mother, Hiroko, was arrested on the same charges.

On July 2, the headless body of 62-year-old Hitoshi Ura was found naked in a hotel room’s bathroom in Sapporo’s Susukino entertainment district.

Ms Tamura and her father were suspected of decapitating the man in the hotel, The Asahi Shimbun reported.

They were also suspected of taking the victim’s head to another location.

The man had died from a stab wound and was decapitated after his death, said The Asahi Shimbun, citing investigative sources.

There were no signs of a struggle in the room and the victim had no defence wounds, said the report.

The police were trying to determine a motive for the murder and the relationship between Mr Ura and the father and daughter, said Kyodo News, adding that the police had declined to say whether the suspects had pleaded guilty.

On July 1, Mr Ura and another individual, believed to be Ms Tamura, checked into the hotel at around 10.50pm. A person was seen leaving the hotel alone at around 2am on July 2, said Kyodo News, citing the police.

The report said Mr Tamura is a psychiatrist at a hospital in Sapporo. He was suspected of dropping off and picking up Ms Tamura at the hotel.

Mr Ura’s body was discovered by a hotel worker who checked the room after he did not check out by the afternoon.

The alleged murder happened in an area where many “love hotels” are located.