Dead Man Indicted for Murder

This is a strange one. Osaka Prefectural Police have indicted a 26 year old man for killing his wife and two daughters at their apartment before committing suicide in Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, in June. The man is already dead, and is being charged with murder! 

A jogger found the body of  Kyohei Akiyama, under a pedestrian bridge about one kilometer from the family’s apartment. Police were called and Mr. Akiyama was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 26 year old wife and two daughters, aged two and one, were found stabbed to death in their apartment by police, when they visited the address on the man/husband’s drivers license. A note saying “I’m sorry” was found in the living room of the apartment. According to police, the man had quit his job and was in a mentally unstable condition.

It seems that in Japan, it is not uncommon for a deceased person to be charged with a crime. The reason is to officially document that the case is closed. Does this happen in any other country?