The bodies of two young brothers and their uncle who had been reported missing in Tamamura, Gunma Prefecture, on Sunday were found in a river on Monday, in what police believe may have been a murder-suicide.
According to police, the bodies of Kei Hagiwara, 4, his brother Sho, 2, and their uncle Hiroki, 36, were recovered from the Tone River at around 10 a.m., Sankei Shimbun reported. Police said the boys’ 33-year-old father left his sons in Hiroki’s care while he went shopping at around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. When he returned about an hour later, the three were nowhere to be found, and later Sunday he filed a missing persons report.
Hiroki’s cell phone, wallet, and car were left at his residence which is near the river in which the bodies were found. A search party of about 60 people searched for the missing trio on Sunday and again on Monday.
© Japan Today
14 Comments
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that person
Sad....
why would the uncle take it upon himself to do such a thing?
shallots
I don’t know anything about rivers but I see these deaths from time to time. How exactly do people die so quickly in rivers and what are some rules of thumb to avoid danger?
Silvafan
Rivers are deceptively dangerous. Usually, these river deaths involve multiple people. I assume one or more people fall in, and the others attempt to rescue them.
Knowing how to swim is becoming more of a luxury, and even ok swimmers don't know how to properly rescue another person. That is why life guards need training.
Sleepytanuki
Heart breaking
Aly Rustom
agree 100%
Tom
Does not sound like murder and suicide at all. Sounds like a Darwin adventure.
Doug Maduro
Really wish all the crazies in this country who want to kill others AND themselves could just focus on THEMSELVES.
Do the hustle
I was so hoping this was just a tragic accident from an uncle taking his nephews to the river for the day, but no! It’s another murder/suicide involving young children. The question remains, why would he kill his bother’s kids as well as himself? That is just seriously messed up!
Numan
Why are people on JT speculating that this was a murder suicide? Is there another article that states this is what happened?
From this article, it seems like an accident. Why would the brother want to commit suicide and take his nephews with him?
That makes little sense at this point!
Howaitosan
A child can drown in as little a 2cm of water and in less time than it takes to answer the telephone. Children always need to be watched when close to water.
Mocheake
I don't know about this being a murder-suicide. In the absence of any real details, I could easily see the uncle taking the boys to the riverside on a nice day to hang out, as they may have done previously, without bringing (or just plain forgetting) his cellphone and wallet. Unnoticed at first by the uncle, one or both of the boys go into the river and struggle, then the uncle goes in to try to help and they all perish. Such a tragic situation. RIP.
Disillusioned
Perhaps it is this.....
what police believe may have been a murder-suicide.
Numan
That seems like lazy detective work!