U.S. Navy Officer Charged with Murder in Death of Wife Found Strangled in Japanese Hotel
- Victor Nwoko
- May 10
- 2 min read
A U.S. Navy lieutenant commander has been formally charged with the murder of his wife, six months after she was found dead inside a hotel room in Fukuoka, Japan. Jessica “Jesse” Arguinzoni Olsen, a 37-year-old substitute teacher and native of Monroe, New York, was discovered on the morning of October 28, 2023, strangled and bleeding in a room at Hotel SOL in the city’s Chuo district.
Her husband, Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Olsen, was charged this week with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice following an Article 32 preliminary hearing at Naval Base San Diego. The charges were confirmed by Cmdr. Paul Macapagal, a spokesperson for Naval Forces Japan. The case is now pending a decision from the Navy’s Office of Special Trial Counsel on whether it will be referred to a general court-martial.
Surveillance footage from the hotel reportedly shows the couple checking in on October 25. Lt. Cmdr. Olsen was seen leaving the hotel alone two days later. At the time of the incident, Olsen was stationed at Naval Surface Group Southwest in San Diego, though he had previously served at Sasebo Naval Base between November 2022 and December 2023, including assignments aboard the USS Chief and the USS New Orleans.
Jessica Olsen was found with extensive trauma to her face and head, including broken jaw and hyoid bones, injuries consistent with strangulation. Her body was returned to her family on November 16, and a funeral was held on November 25 in Monroe, New York.
The couple, who met while attending the State University of New York at Oswego, were married in August 2009. Jessica had been working at Ernest J. King Middle High School, a Department of Defense Education Activity school on the base at Sasebo.
Her sister, Dominique Arguinzoni, said there were no known signs of abuse or problems in the marriage, though she later recalled that Jessica had gradually reduced communication with the family in the months leading up to her death. The family was notified of Jessica’s death by phone on October 28, with no in-person visit or emotional support provided by Navy officials, according to a written statement by Arguinzoni.
“We were simply told that Jesse was dead — and that her husband, LCDR Christopher Olsen, was a person of interest,” she wrote. “We want to grieve. We can’t even wrap up her stuff, and it’s been very frustrating because the little bit of information we get, it throws us back into when they first called us and told us she was gone.”
Jessica Olsen’s personal belongings have still not been returned to her family. The investigation remains ongoing, and Lt. Cmdr. Olsen is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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