Japanese ‘Twitter killer’ sentenced to death

A man dubbed as the “Twitter killer” in Japan has been sentenced to death for murdering and dismembering nine in 2017 he contacted through the social media platform.

The 30-year-old, Takahiro Shiraishi, was convicted in 2017 for killing and dismembering and storing nine victims’ bodies in his apartment in the city of Zama, near Tokyo.

The bodies of his victims, which included eight women and one male between the ages of 15 and 26, were found from three cooler boxes and five containers at his apartment according to police.

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According to the details, the accused set up a Twitter profile in 2017 and targeted females who expressed suicidal intentions on the platform, sending them messages promising to help them die.

Takahiro Shiraishi used a handle which loosely translates to “hangman’ while his profile included the words, “I want to help people who are really in pain, Please DM me anytime.”

Authorities became involved when one of the victim, a 23-year-old women was reported missing and they tracked her down to his apartment on Halloween that year and found bodies stuffed in coolers and boxes.

According to local media, the only male victim, aged 20, was killed after he confronted Shiraishi aka Twitter killer about the whereabouts of his girlfriend.

Shiraishi was found guilty by the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court and sentenced to death for his crimes.

However, his lawyers argued that he should be given a lesser charge of “murder with consent” but Judge Naokuni Yano ruled this was not the case.

The sentence was awarded after five months of psychiatrics testing proving that Takahiro Shiraishi was mentally fit to be held responsible for the murders.

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