US Marine Indicted on Robbery and Murder Charges in Okinawa Killing

Japanese prosecutors have indicted a United States Marine on charges of robbery and murder over the killing of a Japanese woman in Okinawa, Japanese media reported on Monday. Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa and is accused of killing Anna Yagi, 39, in a hotel in Naha, the prefectural capital, earlier this month. Ballard has denied the allegations, Reuters reported.

The charges

Public broadcaster NHK reported that prosecutors indicted Ballard on Sunday, October 25, citing the Naha District Public Prosecutors' Office. Prosecutors allege that he strangled Yagi with a telephone cord and stole a backpack containing a wallet. The Washington Examiner, reporting the account carried by Stars and Stripes, added the prosecutors' detail that Ballard allegedly wrapped a telephone handset cord around Yagi's neck with the intent to kill her before taking the backpack, which held a wallet and other personal belongings.

What police say happened

Yagi was found unresponsive in her hotel room on the morning of October 3 and was pronounced dead at the scene, Okinawa police previously told CNN. Police said the cause of death was suffocation. Ballard was arrested less than 24 hours later while walking around the city, police said. Investigators determined from security camera footage and other evidence that Ballard and Yagi took a taxi from Okinawa City to Naha's entertainment district before entering the hotel, according to police.

Denial and the Marine Corps response

Ballard has denied the allegations. Okinawa police previously told CNN that he denied the charges, and NHK reporting cited by the Washington Examiner said he told investigators during questioning after his arrest that he did not know anything about it. The Naha District Public Prosecutors' Office declined to comment on the case to CNN on Monday.

"We recognize the seriousness of the charges and will continue to cooperate fully with Japanese authorities in their ongoing investigation as the legal process moves forward," the III Marine Expeditionary Force said in a statement reported by Reuters and CNN. Ballard is assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force at Futenma Air Station, CNN reported. Hiroya Ishii, deputy chief prosecutor at the Naha District Public Prosecutors' Office, said: "Going forward, we will do our utmost to make accurate arguments and present evidence based on the law and evidence in the trial."

Protests and a curfew

The case has sparked protests in Okinawa and Tokyo and drew condemnation from Japanese political leaders, Reuters reported. It also prompted a curfew and an alcohol ban for US soldiers stationed in Okinawa.

Yagi's family, in a statement reported by CNN, said they hope the real culprit will face up to what he has done and make amends. The indictment moves the case from the police investigation into the court process that prosecutors described on Sunday.