Kobe Police Arrest 35-Year-Old in Apartment Elevator Stabbing

Hyogo Prefectural Police on Friday arrested Masashi Tanimoto, 35, on suspicion of murdering Megumi Katayama, a 24-year-old insurance company employee, in an apartment building in Kobe. Tanimoto was detained near Oku-tama Station in western Tokyo two days after the stabbing and was transferred by train to a Kobe police station for questioning. Investigators say Katayama returned to her sixth-floor home in Chuo Ward around 7:20 p.m. on 20 August when a man slipped through the building’s auto-lock door behind her. Security footage shows the suspect entering the elevator with Katayama, where he allegedly pinned her down and stabbed her repeatedly. The victim was found bleeding in the hallway and was pronounced dead at hospital; a forensic exam attributed the death to chest wounds that reached her lung and caused massive blood loss. A knife stained with Katayama’s blood was recovered in a nearby parking lot, and surveillance cameras recorded the attacker fleeing north on foot. Police are analyzing CCTV and mobile-phone data to determine how long Tanimoto had followed the victim and whether the two knew each other. The suspect has reportedly told investigators he “did not intend to kill,” an assertion authorities are examining as they build their case.