Japanese prosecutors have charged a suspected serial killer with murder, rape and robbery after the remains of nine dismembered bodies were found in his apartment.
Takahiro Shiraishi, aged 27 and unemployed, has been indicted on nine charges of murder, 8 charges of forcible sexual intercourse, and robbery.
A prosecutor in the case said, “(Shiraishi’s case) is a serious incident. We judged that we need to make the entire picture of the incident clear to the people.”
Shiraishi lured nine people to his flat in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture between August and October 2017 and strangled them with a rope. The victims were aged between 15 and 26 and resident in the Tokyo region. After killing them he stole their money which ranged from several hundred yen to several tens of thousands of yen.
Shiraishi has apparently confessed to the killings telling police he wanted the money to lead an easier life. He has been nicknamed the “Twitter Killer” after luring his victims on social media. He called himself “the hanging pro” on Twitter and contacted people on suicide pact websites. His bio said “I want to help people who are really in pain. Please DM me anytime.”
Police were alerted to the gruesome findings in the killer’s flat by someone reporting a “pungent smell” from an apartment in the area. On entering the property police found two severed heads, a dismembered pair of limbs and a bloodied saw used to dismember the bodies. Other body parts were found in a cooler and toolboxes throughout the house.
Shiraishi told police he lured his victims through offers of entering into suicide pacts but had no intention of killing himself. He made his victims drink alcohol or sleeping pills before sexually assaulting and strangling them. He then hanged them further and then dismembered their bodies.
