US Marine indicted over alleged murder of woman in Okinawa

Koichi Nagano/The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP

Japanese prosecutors have indicted a US Marine on suspicion of murdering and robbing a woman in Okinawa earlier this month, multiple Japanese media outlets have reported, in a case that has prompted renewed outrage over the conduct of US troops in the country.

Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, a 20-year-old Marine assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force at Futenma Air Station, is charged with killing a woman by strangling her with a phone cord at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa’s capital, and stealing her backpack containing a wallet, public broadcaster NHK and others, reported on Sunday.

CNN has reached out to the US Marine Corps and the III Marine Expeditionary Force for comment.

Anna Yagi, 39, was found unresponsive in her hotel room and pronounced dead at the scene on the morning of October 3, Okinawa police previously told CNN, adding the cause of death was suffocation. Ballard was arrested less than 24 hours later while walking around the city, police said.

CNN is working to determine Ballard’s legal representation. The prosecutors have not disclosed whether the suspect has admitted or denied the charges, according to NHK. Okinawa police previously told CNN Ballard denied the charges.

The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office declined to comment on the case to CNN on Monday.

The case against Ballard is the latest in a string of allegations against US personnel in Okinawa, which has been the site of longstanding anger and protests over the American presence on the island chain. Okinawa hosts several US military facilities and is home to about 30,000 US troops and their families.

Ballard’s arrest sparked local protests and condemnation from politicians and leaders in Japan, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who said her government “strongly protested” to the US and called for “thorough discipline among US military personnel, and comprehensive measures to prevent the recurrence of crimes and accidents.”

Okinawa Governor Genta Koja said the alleged murder “leaves us no choice but to conclude that the US military’s efforts in maintaining discipline, educating personnel, and other such measures are completely ineffective.”

Following Ballard’s arrest, US troops on the island were placed under a monthlong curfew and were required to undertake training on “standards, discipline, and our responsibilities as members of the Okinawan community.”

Last year, US Marine Lance Corporal Jamel Clayton, 22, was sentenced to seven years in prison after he was convicted of strangling and sexually assaulting a woman in Okinawa. In 2024, US Air Force member Brennon R. E. Washington, 25, was sentenced to five years for kidnapping and raping an underage girl.

In 2016, tens of thousands of people demonstrated calling for an end to the US military presence on Okinawa following the killing of a local woman by a civilian worker stationed at the US Kadena Air Base.

CNN’s Junko Ogura and Laura Sharman contributed reporting.

长野浩一/读卖新闻/美联社

据多家日本媒体报道，日本检方已对一名美国海军陆战队员提起诉讼，指控其涉嫌于本月初在冲绳谋杀并抢劫一名妇女。此案再次引发了日本民众对驻日美军行为的强烈愤慨。

据日本公共广播公司NHK等媒体周日报道，隶属于普天间空军基地第三海军陆战队远征军的20岁海军陆战队下士德文·雅各布·巴拉德被控在冲绳首府那霸的一家酒店用电话线勒死一名女子，并偷走了她装有钱包的背包。

CNN已联系美国海军陆战队和第三海军陆战远征部队征求意见。

39岁的八木安娜于10月3日上午被发现昏迷在酒店房间内，冲绳警方此前告诉CNN，死因是窒息。警方称，巴拉德在不到24小时后在城内闲逛时被捕。

CNN正在努力确定巴拉德的法律代表人选。据NHK报道，检方尚未透露嫌疑人是否承认或否认指控。冲绳警方此前告诉CNN，巴拉德否认了这些指控。

那霸地方检察厅周一拒绝就此案向 CNN 发表评论。

对巴拉德的指控是近期一系列针对驻冲绳美军人员的指控中的最新一起。长期以来，冲绳一直是美军在该岛链驻扎引发愤怒和抗议的中心。冲绳拥有多处美军设施，约有3万名美军士兵及其家属居住于此。

巴拉德被捕引发了日本当地的抗议活动，并遭到包括首相高市早苗在内的政界人士和领导人的谴责。高市早苗表示，日本政府已就此事向美国“强烈抗议”，并呼吁“美国军方人员实行严格的纪律，并采取全面措施防止犯罪和事故再次发生”。

冲绳县知事古社元太表示，这起谋杀案“让我们不得不得出结论，美军在维持纪律、教育人员和其他此类措施方面的努力完全无效”。

巴拉德被捕后，驻冲绳岛上的美军士兵被实行为期一个月的宵禁，并被要求接受有关“标准、纪律以及我们作为冲绳社区成员的责任”的培训。

去年，22岁的美国海军陆战队下士贾梅尔·克莱顿因在冲绳勒死并性侵一名女子而被判处七年监禁。2024年，25岁的美国空军成员布伦农·R·E·华盛顿因绑架并强奸一名未成年少女而被判处五年监禁。

2016 年，一名驻扎在美军嘉手纳空军基地的平民工人杀害了一名当地妇女，之后数万人举行示威游行，呼吁结束美军在冲绳的驻扎。

CNN的Junko Ogura和Laura Sharman对此报道亦有贡献。