The body of Japanese porn star Rina Arano was reportedly found in Hitachiota, Ibaraki Prefecture, in mid-June, naked and tied to a tree.
The 23-year-old was reported missing by family in early June after Arano did not contact them for three days, The Sun reported. Police began searching for her June 8, and found her partly-decomposed remains on June 14, according to the outlet. Arano reportedly met with freelance nude modeling clients at their residences, charging around $1,000 per shoot.
Fans of Arano’s identified her after law enforcement released a description of her body, The Sun reported.
“Rina Arano was tied to a tree without clothes and has been dead for almost two weeks. We are still trying to determine the cause of death,” police said in a statement, according to The Sun. “The man she was with was already questioned.”
Andy Vermaut shares:Missing 23-year-old woman’s body found in Ibaraki forest: The woman, identified as Rina Arano, a resident of Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward, had been missing since June 5, and her family reported to police three … https://t.co/AYEJzjVe2I Thank you. pic.twitter.com/WfB2xJanZu
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Local law enforcement arrested 33-year-old Hiroyuki Sanpei on suspicion of kidnapping and confining Arano shortly after her remains were uncovered on a slope near his villa, the Japan Times reported. (RELATED: REPORT: Porn Star Found Dead In Las Vegas Home)
Investigators said that Arano and Sanpei met in person after they began messaging each other on social media, the outlet continued. Texts between the pair were uncovered on Sanpei’s phone, and Arano’s phone was later found in his home by investigators, according to the outlet. A drive recorder installed in Sanpei’s car also caught photographs of him driving along a forest road close to where Arano’s body was found, investigators noted, according to the report.
Sanpei has denied all allegations against him, the Japan Times reported. He claimed that he brought Arano to his villa after picking her up at the station, but that he later dropped her at a nearby store, the outlet continued.