<figure id="attachment_473106" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3968px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-473106"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="81bccbb7"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/07/5b81407a23a2da78a6bac91599286e68.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-473106" class="wp-caption-text">The area near the site where the body of the third-year high school girl was found = Minami Ward, Sagamihara City</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Darkness so complete that nothing could be seen around them</h2>
A horrific incident occurred along a riverbank in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, where A, a 17-year-old third-year high school student from Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, was strangled to death. The Kanagawa Prefectural Police arrested B, a 19-year-old self-described painting worker living in Minami Ward, Sagamihara City, who was A’s former boyfriend, on suspicion of murder.
The 19-year-old suspect is accused of killing A at around 9:50 p.m. on June 10 by applying pressure to her neck at a riverside area in Minami Ward, Sagamihara City.
“During questioning, the suspect has largely admitted to the allegations, saying, ‘There is no mistake.’ He has also reportedly stated that he committed the crime after he tried to resume their relationship, but A rejected him.”
— A reporter from the social affairs department of a national newspaper
Until now, there had been no records of consultations or reports to police regarding relationship troubles between the two. Investigators are carefully examining the circumstances behind what appears to have been a sudden act of violence.
On the day of the incident, around 6:30 p.m., A told her family:
“I’m going to meet my ex-boyfriend.”
She then left her home. However, as she still had not returned late at night and could no longer be reached, her worried family contacted emergency services by calling 110.
“Police tracked her mobile phone’s location data and began searching in Minami Ward, Sagamihara City. In the early hours of June 11, officers found A lying under a bridge. Her body had not been covered with vegetation or objects and was lying there as it was. There were no obvious signs of a weapon being used.”
— An investigator involved in the case
The area around where the body was found has a completely different atmosphere during the day and at night. An elderly man in his 80s who has farmed near the riverbank for many years recalled the tense situation immediately after the discovery.
“Around 3:30 in the morning, I went out to the fields as usual to start working, and suddenly four police cars with sirens blaring and one police motorcycle came rushing in. There is a slope leading down to the riverbank, and the officers immediately began surrounding the area with yellow police tape.”
“More than ten officers were hurriedly searching the surroundings. About an hour later, an ambulance arrived with its siren sounding and headed toward the bridge where the body had been found. I’ve been working the soil here for more than 30 years, but I’ve never seen such a frightening incident. It truly scared me.”
A teenage female resident who works part-time near the scene also pointed out the dangers of the area at night.
“During the day, it’s a lively place where you can hear children playing soccer and baseball. But once night falls, the streetlights suddenly disappear, and the entire area becomes so dark that you can’t see anything around you.”
“The fact that such a terrible incident happened in a dangerous, dark place like that has shocked many of my friends as well.”
A, whose life was taken, was remembered by those around her as a cheerful person who was kind and always willing to look after others.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Here is what the perpetrator’s father had to say…"></div>
<div class="expapp-yahoo-paragraph-break"></div>
<h2>A typical high school debut</h2>
A friend of A from middle school described her impression of A:
“If I had to describe her in one word, she was the kind of cheerful person who was always at the center of the class.”
The friend continued:
“During her three years of middle school, she was a member of the soft tennis club and participated very enthusiastically. She treated everyone equally, regardless of who they were, and was the type of student who would greet people with a smile. She had excellent communication skills.”
“Even after entering high school, she continued to be well-liked and seemed to have many friends. On her social media accounts, she posted many photos and videos of herself happily spending time surrounded by large groups of friends.”
“She also had younger siblings who were much younger than her, and she always took very good care of them. People around her saw her as ‘a wonderful older sister who kindly loved and cared for her younger siblings.’”
— A’s middle school friend
Meanwhile, the arrested suspect, B, a 19-year-old self-described painting worker, reportedly struggled to fit in with those around him in his private life, and his behavior had noticeably worsened in recent years.
A local acquaintance who knew B during his school years described his transformation:
“When he was in middle school, he belonged to the badminton club, but he never achieved any notable results in competitions. In class, he was quiet and unnoticed, the type of person who stayed in the background. Even when he graduated, that was still the impression people had of him.”
“But after he entered high school, around the time summer vacation ended during his first year, he suddenly started acting tough toward those around him and began smoking. He had a typical high school debut.”
“During class, he would either ignore the teacher and continue using his smartphone, or sleep with his head on his desk. Eventually, he started riding motorcycles without a license and even ended up hospitalized after an accident.”
“People around him thought that would teach him a lesson, but after being discharged from the hospital, he showed no signs of regret and caused another similar accident. His bad behavior had become impossible to ignore.”
— Local acquaintance of B
According to people who knew B, he was the second of three siblings. His older brother had already moved away from home and was living elsewhere. However, despite reports describing his reckless driving without a license, B apparently did not actually possess a driver’s license for cars or motorcycles.
“According to his aunt who lives nearby, he did not have a motorcycle or vehicle license, and his usual method of transportation was always a bicycle.”
“This area is very inconvenient without a car, so after April, when he became a working adult, his aunt asked him, ‘Now that you’re working, aren’t you going to at least get a scooter license?’ He reportedly answered calmly, ‘I’m planning to start attending driving school and get one soon.’”
“I heard that he also commuted every day by bicycle to his painting job sites.”
— Local resident
After the incident, B’s family apartment in Sagamihara City was visited by reporters. Faced with the sudden situation, B’s father was said to have been deeply shocked and struggled to find words. A reporter from the national newspaper’s social affairs department explained what happened.
“After the incident, I visited the apartment where the boy’s family lived in Sagamihara. His father was deeply shaken by the sudden development and struggled to speak.”
“When reporters approached him, he began by saying in a faint voice, ‘I am truly sorry. At this stage, I have not received any detailed explanation from the police, and I myself have no understanding of what is happening.’”
When asked about his feelings regarding the fact that his son had been arrested as a suspect in such a serious crime, the father bowed his head and said:
“I’m truly sorry. Right now, I don’t have any words.”
When asked again whether he wanted to believe that his son could not have committed such a horrific crime and whether he believed his son was innocent, the father did not respond with rejection or denial. Instead, he simply murmured:
“No, I don’t think that.”
He lowered his gaze quietly, tears welling in his eyes. That moment left a strong impression on the reporter.
According to the same social affairs reporter, B’s father said regarding A:
“I was never told anything about a woman he was dating or about any past relationships.”
The 19-year-old boy, unable to accept the end of the relationship, allegedly took away the future of his former girlfriend at a riverside location at night. Police continue to conduct intensive questioning and analyze evidence to determine his movements during the hours leading up to the incident and the exact motive behind the crime.

 Kyodo News

 A horrific crime occurred on the riverbank in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, where Ms. A (17), a high school senior living in Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, was strangled to death. The suspect is said to be her 19-year-old ex-boyfriend, but…

She Said She Was Going to Meet Her Ex—Then Came a Tragic Ending

Access Ranking