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.