Man Burns Toddler To Death With Hot Water Claiming They Were 'Playing;' Arrested

A 23-year-old man in Japan has been arrested for allegedly burning his girlfriend’s toddler with a hot shower and killing him.

The incident occurred on Aug. 31 at a fifth-floor apartment that the suspect, Takumi Matsubara, shared with his girlfriend and her 3-year-old toddler, Orito Niimura, in Osaka.

Matsubara told officers that he stepped out of the bathroom to set the shower temperature and went for a smoke in the living room. When he returned, he found the boy had collapsed and lost consciousness. At the time of the incident, the boy’s mother was not at home, reported Japan Today.

He even told the investigators that he did not intentionally "cover him in hot water."

"I was playing and gradually raising the (water) temperature to see how (Orito) would react if I kept the hot shower running," Matsubara told officers, according to The Mainichi.

The man was arrested Friday and has been charged with suspicion of murder in connection to the death of Niimura, although he has denied all the allegations, the Osaka Prefectural Police said. It is unclear if more charges would be added.

An autopsy report of the 3-year-old showed that the child had extensive scalds across his body and the skin on the top half of his body had inflammation. The cause of death is determined to be burn shock.

The boy could have been possibly exposed to boiling water continuously for 10 minutes, the Mainichi reported.

Even though the autopsy report found no signs of a restrain, police believe the child was likely bound in some way while he was exposed to the hot shower. They suspect Matasubara did that to ensure his safety from the water as he did not have any burn marks on his body.

According to reports, an acquaintance of the family and others said Matsubara told them that he raised the shower temperature from 38 degrees Celsius to 60 (100 to 140 degrees F).

In May, the toddler’s mother allegedly contacted the local authorities and told them that Matsubara was abusing her son. But, at the time, the authorities concluded that the situation did not require any protective measures for the child.