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Tokyo (CNN) – A Japanese man dubbed the “Twitter killer,” who pleaded guilty to killing nine people in a high-profile mass murder case in 2017, was sentenced to death on Tuesday, the Tachikawa section of the District Court confirmed to CNN. from Tokyo.
Takahiro Shiraishi, 30, was convicted of murdering, raping, dismembering and storing the bodies of the nine victims in his apartment in Zama, Kanagawa prefecture, outside Tokyo, the court said.
Shiraishi was arrested in October 2017 after police searched his home. They were investigating the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman who had posted suicide notes on social networks like Twitter.
Three coolers and five containers containing human heads and bones with the scraped meat were found in Shiraishi’s room, according to TV Asahi, citing police sources.
The nine victims, eight women and one man, were between the ages of 15 and 26, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK and CNN affiliate TV Asahi, which cited court proceedings.
The victims had posted online that they wanted to commit suicide, and were subsequently contacted by Shiraishi through social media platforms, NHK and TV Asahi reported.
The “executioner” of Japan
This court drawing created on September 30, 2020 shows Takahiro Shiraishi in the first trial at the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court in Tachikawa.
Using a social media name that loosely translates to “executioner,” Shiraishi invited them to his apartment in Zama and promised to help them die, the Jiji news agency reported, citing the indictment.
Shiraishi pleaded guilty to murdering the victims and said in court that he had killed them to satisfy his sexual desire, NHK and TV Asahi reported.
NHK added that Shiraishi does not intend to appeal the verdict and will be on death row until the Japanese justice minister signs the execution order.
In Japan, the death penalty is carried out by hanging and the dates are not made public until the sentence is carried out.
With additional information from Reuters.
How to get help: In the US, call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255.
The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also provide contact information for crisis centers around the world.
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