U.S. soldier charged with robbery and murder in Naha hotel woman's body - District prosecutor

On the 25th, the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office indicted Marine Corps Private First Class Devin Jacob Ballard (20), a member of the U.S. military's Futenma Air Base (Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture), on charges of robbery and murder in connection with the incident in which the body of a 39-year-old woman was found in a hotel room in Naha City.

U.S. Marine arrested after finding body of woman in hotel; suspected of robbery and murder: ``I don't know'' - Okinawa Prefectural Police

According to the indictment, between 2:10 a.m. and 4:15 a.m. on the 3rd, the suspect killed the woman by suffocating her by wrapping a telephone receiver cord around her neck in a hotel room in Naha. He is said to have stolen a woman's backpack containing her wallet and other items.

According to prefectural police and investigators, the woman entered the hotel with a man at around 2:10 a.m. on the 3rd, but did not leave the room even after the check-out time, and an employee who checked the room at around 4:15 a.m. discovered her body.

Surveillance cameras in the area showed a man with similar characteristics to the suspect, including tattoos on both arms, leaving the hotel with a backpack, which was later found near the hotel.