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Japan’s ‘Twitter killer’ charged with nine counts of murder
TOKYO, Sept 10, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Japan’s “Twitter killer”, suspected of
murdering and chopping up people he lured on social media, and storing their
body parts in coolboxes, was charged Monday with nine counts of murder.
Takahiro Shiraishi, 27, has admitted to killing and butchering all nine of
his victims — all but one of whom were women aged between 15 and 26.
On the morning of Halloween last year, police uncovered a grisly house of
horrors behind Shiraishi’s front door: nine dismembered bodies with as many
as 240 bone parts stashed in coolers and tool boxes, sprinkled with cat
litter in a bid to hide the evidence.
He is suspected of luring people with suicidal tendencies via Twitter by
telling them he could help them in their plans or even die alongside them.
Prosecutors pressed charges after five months of psychiatric examination
showed Shiraishi could be held criminally responsible, according to local
news agency Jiji Press.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1350 hrs