Cord-Like Marks Found on Woman's Neck in Okinawa Murder Case
Naha, Okinawa Pref., Oct. 5 (Jiji Press)--A woman found dead in a hotel room in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, had marks on her neck suggesting she was strangled with a cord-like object, people familiar with the investigation said Monday. U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, who was arrested by the Okinawa prefectural police on Sunday on suspicion of robbery and murder...
A woman's body was discovered in a hotel room in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on October 5. The woman, aged 39, had marks on her neck indicating she had been strangled with a cord-like object. U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, was arrested on suspicion of robbery and murder. He remains in custody and denies the allegations.
The woman entered the hotel with a man around 2:10 a.m. on Saturday. When they failed to check out by the scheduled time, a hotel employee entered the room at around 4:15 a.m. and found her body. An autopsy revealed that she had died from suffocation due to strangulation. Her backpack and other personal belongings were found nearby.
Security camera footage from the vicinity showed a man leaving the hotel carrying her backpack. Ballard was spotted walking alone in the city of Okinawa on Saturday night. Although his clothing was different from that of the man in the footage, police detained him due to similarities in tattoos and other features.
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