Fire at cake shop in Gifu's Motosu city kills 2 people; bodies with stab wounds also found

At around 9:00 p.m. on the 5th, a fire broke out at the cake shop "Sunrise," a two-story steel-framed shop and residence covering approximately 300 square meters in Sokei, Motosu City, Gifu Prefecture. The shop was destroyed, and the unidentified bodies of a man and a woman were found in the burned-out ruins. In addition, three people were taken to the hospital with injuries: the householder Satomi Sono (66), Hiroshi Hayashi (70), a company executive from Mizuho City, Gifu Prefecture, and a 65-year-old man from the same city. Hayashi was later confirmed dead. According to the Kitagata Police Station of the Gifu Prefectural Police, a woman inside the shop called 110 at the time of the fire, saying, "Someone has been stabbed. Gasoline is being poured. There is a fire." The police are investigating the case as a criminal incident.

The autopsy results revealed that among the unidentified bodies, the man's cause of death was blood loss due to a stab wound in the abdomen, and the woman's cause of death was acute carbon monoxide poisoning. The man's wound reportedly pierced his aorta.

According to a person affiliated with the shop, Sono managed the business. Police investigation indicated that the fire occurred after business hours, when a total of 11 men and women, including Sono and her acquaintances, were holding a gathering. At the time of discovery, Hayashi was found in the parking lot outside the building, while the other 10 people were inside. The police station is working to identify the two bodies and is investigating on the suspicion that one of the individuals present at the scene was involved.

The scene is located about 1.3 kilometers southwest of H北方-Makuwa Station on the Tarumi Railway, an area surrounded by houses and rice paddies. On the 6th, the prefectural police conducted an on-site inspection of the burned building.

According to a male employee at the shop, the store closed at 7:00 p.m. on the 5th, after which junior high school classmates of store manager Satomi Sono (66) and others gathered for a meeting. According to the Gifu Prefectural Police, 11 people including Sono had gathered. Although the male employee did not observe the gathering that day, he said, "Usually, it was about half men and half women, and everyone seemed to be having a good time."

According to the male employee, the classmates' gatherings were held irregularly about two or three times a year. When he told Sono, "It's been a while since the last gathering," she replied, "Yes, it has," looking forward to it. The living space on the east side of the second floor was reportedly used for the gathering.

On the 6th, the male employee was called by the police to inspect the scene and went inside the building. The interior appeared to be charred and burnt down. He remarked, "I had never seen the owner troubled or worried about anything, and I have no idea of any trouble that could lead to such an incident."