Takahiro Shiraishi: ‘Twitter killer’ who killed and dismembered nine people executed

WARNING: Graphic details

The man dubbed the ‘Twitter killer’ has been executed, eight years after he killed and dismembered nine people in his Tokyo apartment.

Takahiro Shiraishi was arrested in October, 2017 after police discovered the remains of eight women and one man hidden in coolers around his home.

Shiraishi approached his victims via Twitter, now known as X. Most had expressed suicidal thoughts and Shiraishi lured them to his Zama house in the Kanagawa prefecture by offering to help them.

The women, aged between 15 and 26, were all raped before Shiraishi murdered them and cut them up. He also killed the boyfriend of one of the women.

Police uncovered the gruesome crimes after visiting Shiraishi’s apartment as part of an investigation into the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman who had discussed suicide on social media.

Three cooler boxes and five containers were found in Shiraishi’s room, containing human heads and bones with the flesh scraped off, according to TV Asahi.

He pleaded guilty to murdering them all.

Shiraishi, 34, was hanged at the Tokyo Detention House amid high secrecy, with the public only notified afterwards. He had spent years on death row after being sentenced to death in 2020.

It is the first time Japan has enacted its capital punishment laws since 2022, when mass murderer Tomohiro Kato was killed.

“This case, driven by selfish motives such as sexual and financial gratification, resulted in the deaths of nine individuals over two months – a deeply serious incident that has caused shock and anxiety across society. I understand it is an especially heartbreaking case for both the victims and their families,” Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki said at a press conference.

“The death sentence was finalized following a thorough trial process. After careful and deliberate consideration of all factors, I issued the execution order,” Mr Suzuki said.

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