US contractor prime suspect in Japanese murder
Print Edition
A US military contractor arrested on suspicion of abandoning the body of a young woman on Okinawa is now officially the prime suspect in her murder and rape, Japanese police said yesterday.
The high-profile case has sparked outrage on the southern island.
Anti-US military sentiment runs deep on Okinawa, where residents have long complained about the heavy presence of US military bases and crime linked to them.
The arrest took up a significant part of a Japan-US summit that was held a week later, causing President Barack Obama to apologize.
The US Marines on Okinawa issued an order two days later restricting celebrations and off-base drinking.
The arrest last weekend of a US sailor for alleged drunken driving has added to the anger.
Following that arrest, the US Navy also banned all drinking of alcohol by its personnel in Japan, on and off base, and restricted off-base activities.
Police said that Kenneth Shinzato, who is also a former Marine, is now the prime suspect in the murder and rape of the 20-year-old woman whose body was found last month, three weeks after she disappeared. She had messaged her boyfriend that she was going for a walk in Uruma City on Okinawa’s eastern coast.
An autopsy on her decomposed body could not determine the cause of death.
Okinawa police said the suspect hit the woman on the head with a club, dragged her into the weeds and raped her, while strangling her and stabbing her with a knife. Kyodo News said Shinzato told police he drove around for a few hours to find an assault target.
Police arrested the 32-year-old on May 19 after he told investigators where they could find the woman’s body in a forest.
Born Kenneth Gadson, reportedly from New York City, he is married to a Japanese woman and uses her family name Shinzato instead of his own.
He worked on Kadena Air Base as an employee for a contractor that provided services to US bases on Okinawa.
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