Naha city hotel woman murder case, strangulation marks on victim's neck

The body of a 39-year-old woman was found in a hotel room in Naha City, and a Marine assigned to the U.S. military's Futenma Air Base (Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture) was arrested on suspicion of robbery and murder. On the 5th, an investigation revealed that there were marks on the woman's neck that appeared to have been strangled with something like a string. Prefectural police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the relationship between the two.

On the same day, prefectural police sent Marine Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard (20), who was arrested on suspicion of robbery and murder, to prosecutors. In response to the investigation, he continues to deny the charges.

According to prefectural police, the woman entered the hotel with a man at around 2:10 a.m. on the 3rd. The employee did not leave the room after the check-out time, so when the employee checked inside the room at around 4:15 a.m., they found a dead body.

An autopsy determined that the woman's cause of death was asphyxia due to strangulation. According to investigators, there were signs of being strangled with a string-like object, and prefectural police will investigate whether the suspect was related to Ballard.