18-year-old arrested over murder of stepmother

Police in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, said Monday they have arrested an 18-year-old youth on suspicion of killing his 42-year-old stepmother at their home.

According to police, the suspect has admitted to beating the victim early on Sunday morning, Sankei Shimbun reported. The suspect, who works as a blacksmith, was seen at around 5:50 a.m. walking unsteadily on the street outside his apartment building by a motorist who called 110.

When police arrived, they found the youth, wearing blood-stained clothes, on the street. He told them he might have killed his stepmother. Police entered the apartment and found the woman in her bedroom, unconscious from several blows to the head and face. She was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The suspect lives with his 41-year-old father and three siblings who were all apparently asleep when he attacked his stepmother.

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