Detained suspect confesses to murder, sexual assault of Japanese woman in Cappadocia

NEVŞEHİR

Mai Kurihara and injured Hoshie Teramatsu were attacked while walking in the Zemi Valley during a trip to Nevşehir’s Göreme village on Sept. 9. Kurihara died at the scene. DHA Photo

A suspect detained Sept. 11 has reportedly confessed to an attack on two female Japanese tourists in Cappadocia that left one dead and the other seriously wounded on Sept. 9, while also admitting to sexually assaulting one of the victims.

F.U., detained late Sept. 11 in the Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir’s Ürgüp district, confessed to the attack that killed Mai Kurihara and injured Hoshie Teramatsu in the famous tourist village of Göreme, Anadolu Agency reported.

F.U., 24, told police that the two women hit his car with their bicycles on Sept. 9 and that he had attacked them with a knife. The detained suspect also confessed that he had sexually assaulted one of the women.

The suspect said he threw the knife into the Kızılırmak River and burnt the women’s bags near Ortahisar neighborhood. Police officers from the dive team are currently searching for the knife in the river.

The police also found money and a camera belonging to the Japanese women during a search of the man’s house and car. The suspect reportedly works at a dam construction site in the area.

Another suspect, 27-year-old M.V.D, was arrested by the court on Sept. 11 by a local court on murder charges that could carry a heavier penalty on the grounds of “cruelty,” as well as separate charges of attempt at deliberate murder, aggravated sexual assault and deprivation of liberty by force.

However, M.V.D.’s mother told Japanese television channels that her son was innocent. M.V.D.’s lawyer, Nazmiye Erdoğan, told reporters today that her client had been wrongfully labeled as the assailant by the media despite denying any involvement in the incident.

Erdoğan said she thought M.V.D. would be released in the wake of F.U.’s confession.

Nevşehir Gov. Mehmet Ceylan said Sept. 10 that the wounded victim recognized M.V.D. as their attacker. Erdoğan, however, said the recognition test was done while Teramatsu was still in shock and that the procedure should be done once more.

Meanwhile, the relatives of F.U. attacked Japanese journalists outside the courthouse, daily Vatan reported today. Police failed to prevent the beating of some Japanese journalists who were present at the courthouse to cover the story.

The Nevşehir Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a written statement that the two women were the victims of a sexual assault and that Kurihara was murdered with a sharp object.

Kurihara and Teramatsu were attacked while walking in the Zemi Valley during a trip to Nevşehir’s Göreme village on Sept. 9. Kurihara died at the scene. Teramatsu survived the attack with serious injuries and underwent an operation at the Nevşehir Public Hospital. Teramatsu’s family arrived in the province on Sept. 11 and visited her in hospital.