Overview
- Police arrested Tatsuya Suzuki, 33, on Thursday on suspicion of mutilating a corpse after he told officers he burned his wife’s body at Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido.
- Security cameras recorded Suzuki arriving by car at the zoo at night and carrying a large object, and police seized his personal car along with two zoo service vehicles.
- A search of the zoo’s animal incinerator found human remains believed to be his wife, Yui Suzuki, 33, after his confession during voluntary questioning.
- Relatives had reported losing contact with Yui in late March and told investigators he had threatened to burn her so nothing would remain, which police are weighing as they consider a possible murder charge.
- The city-run zoo delayed its summer reopening to May 1 and issued public apologies, highlighting concerns about how a municipal facility’s animal incinerator could be used to hide a crime.