Two men rearrested after bodies of missing siblings found

Police rearrested a former city official and a former gangster Thursday after the bodies of two wealthy siblings from Tokyo were found in a mountain forest in Nagano Prefecture.

Yoriaki Imaruoka, 64, and Kazuo Okikura, 60, already arrested on suspicion of theft, were served fresh arrest warrants in connection with the abandoned bodies of Yasuyo Obuku, 54, a librarian, and her brother, Hirokazu, 51.

The siblings, who lived in Akiruno, western Tokyo, were last heard from on April 10.

Imaruoka, a former gangster and construction business operator, provided the location to police after admitting that he and Okikura buried the bodies of the siblings.

Police suspect Okikura, a former Akiruno municipal government official, used information gained on the job to learn about the wealth of the siblings, and then masterminded the plot to take their money.

More than 5 million yen ($47,920) in cash was withdrawn from the siblings' bank accounts on 15 separate occasions between April 9 and 14.

The two suspects were arrested on April 21 in connection with the thefts.

Okikura initially denied the allegations, arguing that he did not even know the siblings' names, and then refused to speak, according to sources. But Okikura eventually admitted to killing the two siblings and abandoning the bodies along with Imaruoka, they said.

Police found the bodies in Iizuna, Nagano Prefecture, on a land plot used by Okikura's brother-in-law near a residential area.

The bodies were clothed and their hands and legs were bound with tape, police said. Autopsies are planned to determine the causes of death. Investigators will continue questioning the two suspects to seek murder charges.

The two suspects are believed to have attacked the siblings at their house on April 9 and buried their bodies on April 13. Police said the two men likely killed the siblings after obtaining the PIN numbers for their bank cards.

The Obukus' wealth stemmed from their father, who owned land plots and apartment buildings in Akiruno.

The siblings sold a land plot near their residence to the Akiruno municipal government for about 330 million yen in 1998. They sold another plot to the city government for about 100 million yen in fiscal 2005.

When working at the Akiruno city government, Okikura held a post for nine months from April 2004 that enabled him to access data on the assets and wages of citizens.

Police suspect Okikura targeted the Obukus after learning about their wealth.(IHT/Asahi: May 8,2008)