Vancouver cops building murder case after Japanese woman’s body found
http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2016/10/03/vancouver-cops-building-murder-case-after-missing-japanese-womans-body-found/
By Roland Shichijo on October 3, 2016·Comments Off on Vancouver cops building murder case after Japanese woman’s body found.  Police investigating whether Natsumi Kogawa met suspect at English conversation cafe
Security camera footage shows Natsumi Kogawa (left) and William Victor Schneider
VANCOUVER, CANADA (TR) – Vancouver police are seeking to apply murder charges to a 48-year-old Canadian male in custody after the body of a missing Japanese woman was found last week, reports TBS News (Oct. 2).
Police are building a murder case against William Schneider, who was seen on security camera footage in the presence of Natsumi Kogawa, 30, within a few hours of the time she last made known contact with an acquaintance. On September 29, police arrested Schneider on suspicion of indignity to a human body. The evening before, police found the body of Kogawa inside a historic mansion in Vancouver that is currently vacant.
English conversation cafe
As a part of the investigation, Vancouver police are attempting to determine whether a cafe where foreign exchange students practice English conversation is where Kogawa got to know Schneider, according to Fuji News Network (Oct. 2).According to the report, Kogawa practiced English at the cafe while the suspect often utilized it as a chance to hit on Japanese women. A regular said that Schneider “was often hitting on girls. He seemed to have no interest in men.”
The witness also saw Schneider try to hit on a group of Japanese women who were at the cafe studying English. “When I asked the Japanese girl if she was all right, she said [Schneider] was always like that,” the witness said. “Rather than taking part [in the English study group] he seemed to be more about going there for coffee and then hitting on any girls that happen to be there.”
Victim’s mother “can’t believe it”
Police have confirmed that Schneider is the same person shown in security camera footage released last week. The footage, taken at around 1:30 p.m. on September 8, shows Kogawa talking to a man in jeans and a baseball cap. Kogawa, a native of Aomori Prefecture, had been studying in Vancouver since May. A friend was last able to contact her via the smartphone application Line on September 8 at around 11:20 a.m. Four days later, a missing persons report was filed with police.
“I can’t believe it,” Kogawa’s mother is quoted by TV Asahi (Oct. 2). “She was a gentle daughter who cared about her family.”
The time and cause of Kogawa’s death will be determined by an autopsy set for Monday, according to Vancouver police. 
Canada, Japan, missing person, murder, Natsumi Kogawa, smartphone, Vancouver
Vancouver Police Announce Murder Charge Laid In Missing Student's Death
Vancouver Police Acting Sgt. Brian Montague confirms the body of missing Japanese student Natsumi Kogawa was found on the grounds of an empty heritage mansion. (Video from Vancouver Police Dept.)
Questions linger after death of Japanese student in Vancouver

CTVNews.ca Staff
 Published Sunday, October 2, 2016 2:05PM EDT 
A memorial is growing in Vancouver’s West End neighbourhood for Japanese student Natsumi Kogawa, whose remains were found at a heritage mansion last Wednesday, more than two weeks after she was last seen. Friends and strangers brought flowers and lit candles outside the Gabriola Mansion, a well-known heritage mansion where Kogawa’s remains were discovered on Sept. 28.
\Kogawa, a 30-year-old English-language student studying in Vancouver, was last seen Sept. 8 in Burnaby. She was reported missing on Sept. 12.
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Bouquets of flowers in tribute to Japanese student Natsumi Kogawa.
Missing student 
Japanese ESL student Natsumi Kogawa, 29, was last seen in downtown Vancouver on Sept. 7.
Police said William Victor Schneider has been arrested and charged with indignity to a human body. He is the same man seen with Kogawa in surveillance video footage taken in downtown Vancouver on Sept. 8.
Kogawa’s mother told local media she was a sweet girl who cared about her family. Tamama Doi, who knew Kogawa since high school and also came to Vancouver to study, said she was devastated when she heard her friend’s remains had been found.
“It’s so sad,” Doi said.
Questions still linger over Kogawa’s mysterious death. Due to a publication ban, police couldn’t provide more details about the evidence against Schneider, his relationship to Kogawa or what led authorities to the empty Gabriola mansion.The case is also making diplomatic waves. Japan’s Consul General Asako Okai told CTV News that that she hopes to see swift justice.
“We had hoped all along that collaborating with the police, that she would have come out of this safely,” Okai said.
Doi said she wants people to know her friend didn’t deserve her fate.
“People are still judging (saying) it is her mistake, and that is disgusting for me, because it’s not her fault.”
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Jon Woodward
Man charged in relation to Natsumi Kogawa death makes brief court　appearance
http://www.am730.ca/syn/112/227442/man-charged-in-relation-to-natsumi-kogawa-death-makes-brief-court-appearance
The man charged in relation to the killing of Japanese student Natsumi Kogawa has briefly appeared in court Monday.　A decision on bail was put off today and William Victor Schneider remains in custody as he waits to find a lawyer to represent his case.
48-year-old Schneider appeared in Vancouver Provincial Court, handcuffed and disheveled as the crown decided on his next appearance.　The accused was arrested in Vernon, B.C. three days ago on the same day that Natsumi’s body was found in an historic downtown building.
Schneider has been charged with indignity to a human body, but charges could be changed to homicide pending an autopsy report which is set to take place Monday.
30-year-old Natsumi, who was in Vancouver to study English, went missing on Sept. 7 and was found dead three weeks later.