[ad_1]
By AFP 
2h ago
By Natsuko Fukue
Tokyo, Japan – A Japanese man nicknamed the “Twitter killer” was sentenced to death by a Tokyo court on Tuesday for murdering and dismembering nine people he met on the social media platform.
Takahiro Shiraishi, 30, admitted to killing and massacring his young victims, all but one of whom were women.
Shiraishi targeted social media users who posted about taking his own life, telling them that he could help them in their plans, or even die alongside them.
His lawyers had argued that he should receive a prison sentence rather than be executed because his victims, aged between 15 and 26, had expressed suicidal thoughts on social media and therefore consented to die.
But a judge dismissed that argument and handed down the death penalty for the 2017 crimes, calling it “cunning and cruel,” public broadcaster NHK said.
“None of the nine victims agreed to be killed, including silent consent,” the judge quoted NHK as saying.
“It is extremely serious that the lives of nine young people have been taken. The dignity of the victims was trampled on,” he said, adding that Shiraishi had preyed on “mentally fragile” people.
The judge said that the case, which generated calls for greater control in social networks, “caused great anxiety in society, because social networks are widely used.”
The gruesome killings attracted international attention, and the case has been closely followed in Japan, with 435 people reportedly turning up to secure one of the 16 available public seats.
When asked if the verdict was audible, Shiraishi, wearing a white mask, stood still and just said, “I got it.”
Relatives of the victims have spoken with emotion of their continued grief over the case, and the brother of a 25-year-old woman killed by Shiraishi said his “heart died” when he heard the killer’s testimony.
“It didn’t sound at all like he regretted it … It felt like I got hurt with a sharp knife over and over again.”
On Tuesday, the father of another 17-year-old victim told NHK that the death sentence was “appropriate.”
“I feel like I want revenge, but grieving families can’t do anything. I don’t know how to vent my anger,” he said.
– ‘Ready to admit my guilt’ –
Shiraishi was detained three years ago by police investigating the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman who had reportedly tweeted about wanting to commit suicide.
After her disappearance, her brother accessed their Twitter account and noticed a suspicious identifier that eventually led them to Shiraishi’s residence, where they discovered a house of horrors on Halloween morning 2017.
Nine dismembered bodies, with up to 240 bone parts hidden in coolers and tool boxes, had been doused with kitty litter in an attempt to hide the evidence.
Shiraishi admitted the crimes and told the court last month: “I am ready to admit my guilt and incur the punishment without appealing to a higher court.”
It was not immediately clear whether he would adhere to the decision to waive an appeal of the sentence.
Japan is one of the few developed nations that maintains the death penalty, with more than 100 prisoners on death row, and support for it remains high.
But generally years pass between sentencing and execution, the latest in December 2019, when a Chinese man was hanged for the murder of a family of four.
Shiraishi’s crimes reignited the debate in Japan about suicide and helping those who consider it.
Japan has the highest suicide rate among the Group of Seven industrialized nations, with more than 20,000 people taking their own lives annually.
The numbers have fallen from a peak in 2003, but there have been signs that suicide rates are rising again in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
[ad_2]
