Son Arrested After Parents' Rotting Bodies Found In Living Room, Homeowner Comes Home To Corpse In Driveway

A Kohoku Ward, Yokohama City son has been seized by law enforcement on Thursday after the decomposing bodies of his mother and father were located in their residence in Japan.

Kanagawa Prefectural Police accused Kiyoshi Suzuki, 61, of no known occupation, of abandoning the corpses of his mother, 85-year-old Hatsue, and his father, 88-year-old Haruo at their shared residence in Kohoku Ward.

On May 12, Hatsue’s nephew, the uncle of the accused, approached authorities in the neighborhood after not being able to get in touch with the family for several months, believing they might be in great danger.

Police officers were deployed to the area to check on the family's welfare. Authorities reportedly proceeded to force their entry into the home after knocks were left unanswered as the stench of decaying corpses exuded across the Kohoku Ward driveway, reported Tokyo Reporter.

To their surprise, police found the rotting remains of Hatsue and Haruo, which showed no signs of external wounds, carelessly covered by a blanket in the living room. However, the causes of death of the couple cannot be ascertained due to the advanced stages of decay of the bodies, according to local police.

At the time of the discovery, Suzuki's whereabouts were not known. Police later took him in custody for voluntary questioning on Wednesday after tracking him to a Kohoku bar.

“My father died in February, and my mother in March,” he told police. “I didn’t contact a hospital since I have no money.”

At the time of his arrest, the man had about 300,000 yen ($2,700) in cash in his possession.

Earlier this year, Yumi Yoshino, 48, was seized by police for a similar crime in Japan on Jan. 30. According to The Strait Times, the woman said she hid her mother's corpse in a freezer of their Tokyo apartment for a decade, fearing eviction from the home shared with her mother if the death was discovered.

Meanwhile, in North Carolina, a Goldsboro man reportedly came home to find the dismembered body of a woman in his driveway on Bright Street before 9:30 a.m. on Monday. He immediately alerted 911, which later released the details of the call on Thursday.

“I just pulled up to my house and it looks like there is a rotting corpse on my driveway,” the caller informed the 911 operator. “It looks like the legs are cut off. If you could send a cop now, it doesn’t look good.”

Responding officers who arrived at the driveway on Monday removed the woman's severed leg and body, transporting it to the morgue.

Tuesday evening, law enforcement said they were hunting for a car in connection with the grim discovery of the body, issuing a photo of a sedan that appeared to be a Cadillac, according to WNCN.

Authorities are urging anyone with information about the car or body to contact the Goldsboro/Wayne County Crime Stoppers at 919-735-2255.