Police in Mikawa town, Yamagata Prefecture, have arrested 28-year-old man on suspicion of killing a 90-year-old woman in September.

Police said Kazuma Ishikawa, a part-time worker, is accused of breaking into the home of Shoko Abe sometime between 4 p.m. on September 21 and 10 a.m. the next day, TV Asahi reported. He apparently gained entrance by breaking a bay window on the porch of the house.

Abe was found lying on a futon in her bedroom by her eldest son when he visited her home just before noon on Sept 22. He called 119 but Abe was declared dead at the scene.

Police said Abe had multiple injuries to her head, face and chest inflicted by a blunt object and that an autopsy revealed she died from traumatic shock.

Abe lived alone and had no other family apart from her eldest son who is in his 60s. However, she was related to Mikawa Mayor Makoto Abe.

Police said Ishikawa surfaced as a suspect after an analysis of street surveillance camera footage taken in the vicinity of Abe’s house.

Following the suspect's arrest on Friday, Mayor Abe said, "I'm glad that the case has been solved. I’ll keep an eye on the progress of the police investigation to find out why he did it."

A woman in her 70s who lives nearby and knows the suspect said, "He was a really good kid, and when I came home from working in the fields, he would say hello. I've never heard of him causing any trouble. I can't believe he would do something like that."