OKEGAWA, Japan, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Japanese authorities arrested former Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher Hiroshi Ogawa in the death of a 67-year-old woman whose body was found in a river.
The body of Kazuko Nishiuchi was found last November in a river in Okegawa, the Mainichi Shimbun reported.
Investigators said Ogawa, 42, visited the home of the chairman of the company, where Nishiuchi both lived and worked, on Nov. 18 and asked her for a loan.
When she refused, Ogawa knocked her over, leaving her unconscious, then stole an envelope in the home containing about $16,770 in cash, police said. He then allegedly put the body in his vehicle and later dumped it in the river.
Police said the death was caused by drowning. They said when Ogawa left the Lotte Marines in November 2002, he was about $100,000 in debt due to a divorce settlement and other costs.
