Prosecutors in Okinawa have charged a US Marine with robbery and murder over the death of a 39-year-old Japanese woman found in a hotel room earlier this month, The Japan Times reports.
Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan. The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office has not said whether he admits the charges.
According to investigative sources, the woman checked into the hotel with a man in the early hours, and staff found her body after she failed to check out. Security footage showed a man resembling Mr Ballard, with tattoos on both arms, leaving with a backpack, which was later recovered nearby. Police arrested him in the city of Okinawa later that morning. The case has prompted protests outside Japan's foreign ministry.
Source: The Japan Times
