U.S. Navy sailor, Japanese woman found dead in Okinawa

April 13 (UPI) -- A U.S. Navy sailor and a Japan woman were found stabbed to death Saturday in a suspected murder-suicide in an apartment on the Japanese Island of Okinawa, police said.

The sailor, 31, apparently killed the woman, who was in her 30s, and then himself, Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Takeo Akiba said in a statement obtained by CNN. The names of the couple, who were believed to be in a romantic relationship,. were not announced.

The woman's child was unharmed in the apartment during incident and called a relative, who then notified police at 7:26 a.m., a police spokesman said, according to Stars and Stripes.

"This is an absolute tragedy and we are fully committed to supporting the investigation into the incident," the U.S. 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, where the sailor was attached, said in a statement. "More information will be forthcoming as the investigation progresses."

William Hagerty, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, promised full cooperation with the investigation, according to a statement.