Athens  - A former Japanese ambassador to the Vatican was imprisoned without the possibility of bail by a Greek examining magistrate Tuesday after being charged along with his wife with the murder of their 36-year-old daughter.

The 77-year-old former diplomat, Masami Tanida and his Greek wife, Maria, 67, were arrested on Saturday and charged with murder after police discovered the body of their daughter in the bathroom of their villa on the Greek island of Evia.

The ambassador's lawyer, Thanassis Tartis, told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa that the investigating magistrate imprisoned the couple, without bail, until the court date.

"I predict the court hearing to take place in two months but it could take up to 6 months in these cases," said Tartis.

Under Greek law, suspects can be imprisoned for a maximum of 18 months before the court hearing.

"I believe that the judge decided to imprison my client for fear that he may run back to Japan and not appear at the trial."

Tartis said the couple deny the murder charge and claim their daughter committed suicide.

A coroner's report has not been made public but news reports said that it found the woman to have been strangled to death and her wrist slit to make it appear that she took her own life. She also had bruising on the left side of her face.

The lawyer said that he will put in an appeal to the council of judges on Wednesday with the hope that they will release his client on bail until the court hearing.

The couple have admitted to arguing with their daughter about her current relationship with a Greek man and the upbringing of their three-year-old grandchild.

Police were alerted after the ambassador's wife approached doctors at a hospital on Evia with her young granddaughter requesting a death certificate for her daughter, Amphithea, claiming she had suffered fatal head injuries falling down a flight of stairs.

Officials then searched the house and found the body wrapped in a sheet in a bathroom closet.

The victim's Greek companion, who is the father of the 3-year-old girl, had declared the victim missing on Thursday after she failed to respond to phone calls. He told police he drove both the victim and their child to see her parents on Tuesday.

Tartis said the couple had met in Brussels and married in Japan in 1964. Tanida served as Japan's ambassador to the Vatican, among other postings. He had settled in the town of Amarynthos on Evia after retiring from the diplomatic service. (dpa)