Japan: Americans held in Irish student's death

From Junko Ogura, CNN

May 27, 2012 -- Updated 0527 GMT (1327 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Nicola Furlong, 21, is found dead in a hotel room with one of the men, police say
• Police detain the Americans for questioning into Furlong's death
• The death is believed to be a result of strangling

Tokyo (CNN) -- Police have detained two American men as part of an investigation into the strangling death of an Irish exchange student in Tokyo, local authorities said Sunday.

Nicola Furlong, 21, was found dead in a hotel room with one of the men, according to Tokyo police.

The men were not charged in Furlong's death. Rather, police arrested the men, ages 19 and 23, on suspicion of improperly touching Furlong's friend in a taxi early Thursday, as the four were headed back to the hotel, authorities said.

Authorities would not say how the four ended up together, but Japanese media reported that the women were attending a concert in Tokyo when they met the men and decided to accompany them to their hotel rooms.

The hotel staff found Furlong unconscious after customers complained of loud noises coming from the room, police said.

When the staff got to the room, they found her in the room with the 19-year-old and called the fire department, Tokyo authorities said.

The death is believed to be as a result of suffocation by the cervical compression, police said.

The U.S. State Department confirmed the arrests, but could not provide additional details, citing privacy concerns.

CNN's Jamie Crawford and Bharati Naik contributed to the report.

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