Osaka prefectural police arrested a 33-year-old man on suspicion of murder on Nov. 13 over the death of his 3-year-old daughter at the family's home in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, and arrested the girl's 33-year-old mother on suspicion of abandoning a person in her care, causing death.
The father, Kentaro Kaneo, is a company employee. The mother is named as Riyo Kaneo. Police have not disclosed whether either suspect admits or denies the allegations.
The daughter, Erena, had dozens of bruises on her body. Police are investigating whether she was abused routinely.
The Mainichi Shimbun reported that the family of three had been seen around their home looking happy, and that neighbors reacted to the arrests with shock and confusion.
A child who hid her face
“When I waved, she gave a little smile and then turned her face away. I thought she must be shy.”a woman in her 50s who lives nearby, neighbor
The woman said she could not hide her surprise at the news. Erena often wore colorful clothes with frills, and the woman remembered her as stylish and lovely.
According to the woman, Erena was walked to preschool every morning by her father, who held her hand. She said she would come home to the sound of the girl and her father singing from the bathroom.
Last summer the three of them watched a fireworks display from a landing in their apartment building, the woman said. She recalled them laughing together and looking happy.
A change in the summer
The woman noticed something different this summer, when she stopped seeing Erena. The mother also looked drained and listless, she said.
On the suspicion that the parents were involved, the woman was at a loss for words. "They were adorable," she said. "They just didn't look like that kind of family."