A woman has been arrested after a U.S. airman based in Japan was stabbed to death.
The U.S. Air Force said that Master Sargeant Nicholas Vollweiler, 35, from the 374th Airlift Wing, had been working on Yokota Air Base, near Tokyo. He was found unconscious with stab wounds in his off-base home on Friday.
The Associated Press reported that the suspect has been named as 27-year-old woman Aria Saito, who has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
#Breaking: Air Force officials have identified an airman stabbed to death Friday outside the home of U.S. Forces Japan in western Tokyo as Master Sgt. Nicholas Vollweiler, 35. https://t.co/7o7fdjDXLv
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) November 11, 2018
She told police she killed Vollweiler because she did not want to end their relationship, and she intended to commit suicide afterwards.
Vollweiler was from the +Saylorsburg area in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, and was a graduate of Pleasant Valley High School in the Poconos, WFMZ reported. His cousin, Lou Romeo, told the Pennsylvania television station WNEP: "The first day he put on that uniform, he knew what he wanted to do.
"I regret not facing him one-on-one and looking in his eye and shaking his hand and saying thank you for serving and protecting us."
Colonel Otis Jones, 374th Airlift Wing commander, said Vollweiler was "a truly valued airman."
"His family, friends, fellow defenders, and all of the Yokota community are in our prayers during this heartbreaking time," Jones said in an Air Force statement, according to Stars and Stripes.
A post on the Yokota Air Base Facebook page said: "Losing a member of our team is hard for all of us so I ask that you look out for each other and provide a hand when needed, especially on this very important holiday weekend."
Around 54,000 American troops are stationed in Japan.
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