Nepalese man arrested for killing wife, baby still missing in Niseko

Wednesday, 07 May 2008

KUTCHAN, Hokkaido -- A Nepalese man has been arrested for the brutal murder of his wife because she had been seeking a divorce, police said.

The Nepalese man has also admitted to throwing the couple's 6-month-old daughter into a nearby river, police said, adding that a search for the missing girl will continue on Wednesday.

The suspect, 26, a restaurant operator, was arrested for the murder of his 29-year-old wife, Chie. A phoenetic reading of the man's name is Bahado Kami Shiemu. Kutchan Police Station said they do not know the spelling of his name. His wife used his surname.

He admits to the allegations.

"She started talking about a divorce, so I killed her," the suspect told the police.

Police said some time from late Monday to early Tuesday the suspect repeatedly kicked his wife in the chest and punched her in the head and face, killing her. The couple lived in a two story home, with a restaurant and store they operated on the ground floor and their living quarters on the upper story. Early on Tuesday, the clearly agitated husband raced into his in-laws' home on the same property, prompting his father-in-law to check up on his daughter and make the gruesome find of her battered body.

Chie was lying face up with injuries to her face, head and neck. An autopsy later revealed she had died of a combination of asphyxiation and shock brought on as a result of her facial injuries. A weapon believed to have been used in the alleged attack on her has been found at the scene. There was also a window broken at the home and furniture had become scattered.

Sources said Chie visited Nepal in 2005 where she met her alleged killer. He came to Japan in March last year and they married shortly after. Their daughter was born in the autumn of last year. In December last year, the couple opened a Nepalese curry restaurant and trinket sales outlet at their home, but business was not good. In April, Chie approached her parents, saying that she could no longer go on and wanted to divorce her husband. On Monday night, she had also talked to her parents about divorcing.

The scene of the horrific incident was located near the Niseko ski resort that is enormously popular among Australians in particular. Chie's parents have run lodgings in their current location for about 20 years and their daughter and her husband lived on the same property.

A farmer living nearby was shocked.

"I saw the three of them going to the convenience store in March. The husband was holding the baby and looked to be absolutely delighted," the 63-year-old neighbor said.