Police in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, have arrested a 65-year-old man on suspicion of abandoning the body of his 85-year-old mother in their apartment in Tokyo in December.

Police said Kazuhiko Tanaka is accused of failing to report the death of his mother and leaving her body at their apartment in Edogawa Ward, while he went to Aichi Prefecture sometime between Dec 2 and Dec 11, TV Asahi reported. 

According to police, the landlord of the apartment became suspicious when he could not contact Tanaka or his mother and went to check on Dec 11. He found the mother’s body in a futon and called police.

Police said circumstances indicated that the mother had committed suicide but did not provide more details. They also said that the body showed signs of having been moved after death.

Police said Tanaka, who was arrested on Friday, has denied the allegation and quoted him as saying,"I did not find my mother dead, and I did not touch her body.”