RP police arrest murder suspect

RP police arrest murder suspect

MANILA (AFP): Philippine police said on Thursday they arrested
a suspect in the murder of a popular Japanese jazz musician here
earlier this week.

Police identified the suspect as Alex Ilagan, 32, a masseur
who admitted to having an affair with harpist Tadao Hayashi, who
was found dead in a pool of blood in his suburban Manila home on
Monday.

A witness identified Ilagan as the last person seen with
Hayashi before the murder, police said.

Ilagan also bore "visible signs of cuts and scratches on the
right knuckles, arms and chest," police said, adding that this
was an indication that he fought with Hayashi before killing him.
Hayashi was a Japanese jazz artist who enjoyed a sizable
following here.

Newspaper reports have said that the Japanese Embassy had
asked local police to speed up its probe into the killing.