The suspect had talked with Nhat Linh before the murder.

Kyodo News quoted investigative sources as saying that some witnesses saw suspect Shibuya Yasumasa talking to Le Thi Nhat Linh while on patrol near the school.

Accordingly, Yasumasa often stands in one place every morning and chats friendly with female students, including Nhat Linh.

Shibuya Yasumasa (left) is escorted into a police car. (Source: Asahi Shimbun)

Yasumasa, 46, works at a real estate leasing company and lives near Mutsumi Station in Matsudo, 300 meters from Linh’s home. Thanks to his active participation in social activities, Shibuya was elected as the president of the parents’ association in 2016 and is responsible for supervising children on their way to school.

According to the Mainichi newspaper on the morning of April 15, investigators said that on the morning of March 24 - the time Nhat Linh went missing - images of the suspect Yasumasa's family's Wagon camping car appeared on many security cameras in the area where Nhat Linh's body was found and near where her school bag was found.

In addition, residents in the area of ​​Nhat Linh's house confirmed that on the morning of March 24, the suspect did not participate in volunteer activities to ensure traffic safety for students going to school as usual, and on the evening of March 24, the suspect also did not participate in the search for Nhat Linh with residents in the area./.

According to Vietnamplus