American Man Questioned in Japan After Woman's Severed Head Found in Vacation Rental Apartment

An American man is being questioned by police in Osaka, Japan, after a woman’s severed head was found in his vacation rental apartment.

Police believe the victim is a Japanese woman last caught on CCTV walking with the suspect, the BBC reported.

Friends said the 27-year-old woman told them she was going to meet an American man after communicating with him on an app. She was reported missing on by her relatives on February 17, Japanese daily Asahi reported.

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Police searching for the woman found what they believe to be her head in a suitcase in the apartment. 

Hyogo prefectural police (R) are pictured at the scene as they investigate an apartment (L) where a decapitated head was found in Osaka on February 25, 2018. Japanese police are questioning a US man in custody after a decapitated head was found in an Osaka apartment he was renting, local media reported on February 25. Getty Images

The American man denies all allegations of connections with the case. He has been identified by local media as Yevgeniy Vasilievich Bayraktar, 26, from New York, and reportedly entered Japan in January for a sightseeing trip. 

Surveillance camera footage reportedly shows him entering a separate apartment he was renting in the western Osaka prefecture with the woman on Feb. 16, reported the Japan Times, and coming in and out several times carrying a large suitcase.

The footage does not show the woman leaving the apartment.