Okinawa police arrest US Marine on suspicion of killing Japanese woman at hotel

Okinawa police arrested a U.S. Marine early Sunday on suspicion of killing a Japanese woman and stealing her belongings at a hotel in the prefectural capital.

Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi, 39, of Naha, early Saturday at a hotel in the city’s Wakasa district, an Okinawa Prefectural Police spokesman said by phone Sunday.

Police did not identify the hotel but provided a block number. Based on that and photos published by Okinawa Television, it is Naminoue Crystal Hotel.

Police allege Ballard stole the woman’s wallet and another item and killed her sometime between 2:10 a.m. and 4:17 a.m., the spokesman said.

Security camera footage showed Yagi entering the hotel with Ballard and Ballard leaving alone sometime later, a second police spokesman said by phone Sunday. The employee entered the room after receiving no response when the pair failed to check out on time.

A hotel employee called the Naha Fire Department after finding the woman unconscious, the spokesman said.

Police spotted Ballard walking in an Okinawa city nightlife district the following night, questioned him and arrested him, the spokesman said.

Ballard is denying the allegations, according to the spokesman. 

Ballard remained in Japanese custody Sunday, and police expected to refer his case to the Naha Public Prosecutors Office within 48 hours of his arrest, according to the spokesman. He declined to disclose where Ballard was being held.

The Marine Corps is “actively cooperating with Japanese authorities in response to allegations of serious criminal actions by a Marine assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force,” spokesman 1st Lt. Tyler Thomas wrote in an email Sunday.

He added that there is “no further information to release at this time.”

U.S. Embassy Tokyo said Sunday that the United States is “communicating and cooperating with the Government of Japan and local authorities.”

“We are aware that a US service member is in custody following the death of a Japanese national in Okinawa,” the embassy wrote in an X post that tagged III MEF. “We extend our sincere condolences to the victim’s family.”

Some Japanese government officials must speak to the media on condition of anonymity.