Japanese man rents house where wife was killed for 26 years, killer turns out to be his ex-classmate

Police in Nagoya, Japan have arrested a 69-year-old woman on suspicion of murdering a housewife 26 years ago, bringing closure to a case that haunted a family, reported Japanese media.

The efforts of the husband, who had continued to rent his late wife’s flat for more than two decades to preserve the crime scene, led to the arrest.

The arrest

According to Aichi prefectural police, Kumiko Yasufuku, a part-time supermarket worker from Nagoya, has admitted to killing Namiko Takaba, then 32, at her apartment in Nishi Ward on Nov. 13, 1999, reported The Mainichi Shimbun.

Takaba suffered multiple stab wounds to the neck and collapsed in the hallway, while her two-year-old son was found unharmed nearby.

Yasufuku, who surrendered to the police on Oct. 30, 2025, told investigators she had lived in fear of arrest for more than twenty years.

“I was anxious every day. Around the anniversary of the incident, I would feel depressed,” she said, as quoted by The Asahi Shimbun.

“When police came in August, I knew I was going to be arrested.”

DNA breakthrough

Despite numerous leads, the investigation went cold for more than two decades.

The police had reportedly questioned Yasafuku multiple times since August 2025 and requested a DNA sample, as reported by The Sankei Shimbun, but she had refused.

However, she eventually complied on Oct. 30, and the results confirmed a match to the crime-scene blood, namely at the entrance of the house that the husband had continued renting.

A Husband’s relentless faith

The victim’s husband, Satoru Takaba, also 69, learned early on that the bloodstains at the entrance of his house that he had first assumed belonged to his wife were actually the killer’s.

Determined not to let the clue vanish, he continued to rent the apartment even after moving out, paying an estimated 22.48 million yen (S$190,000) over 26 years.

He said it felt like “chasing a ghost”, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun, but he never stopped hoping that one day he would be able to bring the suspect to justice.

When informed of the arrest, Satoru expressed his appreciation for everyone who had helped him.

"My efforts have been rewarded. It's thanks to the landlord who lowered the rent and everyone who supported me."

Former crush turned killer

Investigators later identified the killer, Yasufuku, as Satoru's former high school classmate who once belonged to the same tennis club as him.

She allegedly confessed her feelings to him as a student, writing a love letter and giving him chocolates on Valentine’s Day.

She had also once waited for him after university practice without warning, until he asked her not to, as he found it bothersome.

The two met only once more, at a class reunion decades later, but around five months before the murder took place, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

Satoru mentioned during the reunion the days he would be away from home for work.

Police investigators believe that it was highly likely the suspect had overheard this information.

Police also believe she entered the family's apartment carrying a knife, stabbed the wife several times, and later disposed of the weapon.

Yasufuku was married and had children at the time of the killing.

"I feel terrible for (my wife) that it was someone I knew,” Satoru mentioned. “They shouldn't have even known each other.”

After the incident, Satoru was unable to dispose of Takaba's belongings, according to Gendai Business.

Their home looked just like it was back then: her favourite photo books and fan club newsletters, the jacket she always wore, and her original recipe collection.

Her husband said she was family-oriented and a good cook.

"I wish I had told her 'your cooking is delicious' more often,” he regretted.

The day of the crime

On the morning of Nov. 13, 1999, Takaba had taken her son to a nearby paediatric clinic around 11am and was seen returning home just before noon, according to Gendai Business.

At about 2:30pm, the landlord’s wife discovered her body after finding the door unlocked.

The living room television was still playing a variety show, and a bowl of miso soup and a cup of soggy instant noodles, believed to have been her son’s lunch, were left on the table.

Police found a half-drunk lactic acid beverage on the kitchen table, a brand not usually bought by Takaba and sold only some 30 kilometres away, suggesting it was bought and left behind by the killer.

Large blood stains, later proven to be the assailant’s, and multiple shoe prints led out of the apartment onto the street.

A woman matching Yasufuku’s description was seen calmly walking away, apparently hiding an injured hand.

However, police found no medical record of her seeking treatment for the wound.

Investigation into motive still underway

While Yasafuku has admitted to the attack and expressed remorse, she has not provided a motive.

Satoru himself said, as reported by The Yomiuri Shimbun:

“The case is not over until the question of 'Why Namiko?' is resolved."

Authorities say that the investigation into the suspect's motive will continue.

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