Suspect in fatal Japan clinic fire dies in hospital
ABC News
Police say the suspect in a fire in Japan that killed 25 people has died at a hospital where he was being treated for burns and smoke inhalation
TOKYO -- The suspect in a fire in Japan that killed 25 people has died at a hospital where he was being treated for burns and smoke inhalation, police said Friday.
Morio Tanimoto had been under investigation on suspicion of arson and murder in the Dec. 17 fire at a mental health clinic in Osaka in western Japan. He died Thursday.
Tanimoto, a clinic patient, was seen on security camera footage. He had bought a large amount of gasoline, and the incident drew comparisons to a 2019 arson attack on an animation studio in Kyoto that killed 36 people.
Japan’s nationally circulated Yomiuri newspaper said Tanimoto had been in a coma, adding that his death will likely mean much of the crime will remain a mystery.
