'Twitter killer' who murdered nine hanged in Japan's first execution since 2022
Warning: This story contains details that some readers might find distressing.
Japan has executed a man who killed nine people after contacting them on social media, the first use of capital punishment in the country in nearly three years.
Takahiro Shiraishi, 34, was hanged for killing his victims, aged between 15 and 26, after contacting them on the social media platform now called X.
All but one victim were women.
He was sentenced to death in 2020 for strangling and dismembering nine people in his apartment in Zama city, about 60 kilometres from Tokyo.
Shiraishi targeted users who posted about taking their own lives, telling them he could help them in their plans, or even die alongside them.
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, who ordered Shiraishi's execution, said his crimes included "robbery, rape, murder … destruction of a corpse and abandonment of a corpse".
He said Shiraishi acted "for the genuinely selfish reason of satisfying his own sexual and financial desires" and the murders "caused great shock and anxiety to society".
After luring them to his small home near the capital, he stashed parts of their bodies around the apartment in coolers and toolboxes sprinkled with cat litter in a bid to hide the evidence.
His lawyers argued Shiraishi should receive a prison sentence rather than be executed because his victims had expressed suicidal thoughts and so had consented to die.
But a judge dismissed that argument, calling Shiraishi's crimes "cunning and cruel" and saying he preyed upon people who were "mentally fragile", according to reports at the time.
The grisly murders were discovered in 2017 by police investigating the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman who had reportedly tweeted about wanting to kill herself.
Her brother gained access to her Twitter account and eventually led police to Shiraishi's residence, where investigators found the nine dismembered bodies.
Executions are always done by hanging in Japan, and nearly half of the approximately 100 prisoners on death row are seeking a retrial, according to Mr Suzuki.
Japanese law requires executions to be carried out within six months of a verdict after appeals are exhausted, but most inmates are left waiting in solitary confinement for years, sometimes decades.
In September last year, a Japanese court acquitted Iwao Hakamada, who had spent the world's longest time on death row after a wrongful conviction for crimes committed nearly 60 years ago.
There is widespread criticism of the system and the government's lack of transparency over the practice.
Prisoners in Japan are notified of their execution hours before it is carried out, which has long been decried by human rights groups for the stress it puts on death-row prisoners.
Despite this, there is strong support for capital punishment among the Japanese public.
The last execution, carried out in 2022, was of a man who went on a stabbing rampage in Tokyo's shopping district Akihabara in 2008.
"It is not appropriate to abolish the death penalty while these violent crimes are still being committed," Mr Suzuki said.
AFP/Reuters
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Daily Telegraph
an hour ago
- Daily Telegraph
Japan executes ‘Twitter killer' Takahiro Shiraishi, who dismembered nine victims he found on social media
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. Japan has executed Takahiro Shiraishi, the man infamously known as the 'Twitter killer,' who was convicted of murdering and dismembering nine people after contacting them through social media. The 34-year-old was hanged on Friday at the Tokyo Detention House. It marked the country's first execution since July 2022. He had been sentenced to death in 2020 after pleading guilty to killing eight women and one man between August and October 2017. Shiraishi was arrested after police searched his apartment in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, following the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman who had expressed suicidal thoughts on social media. Inside his residence, authorities discovered three cooler boxes and five containers filled with human remains. Among the macabre findings were heads and bones stripped of flesh. Takahiro Shiraishi covering his face with his hands as he is transported to the prosecutor's office from a police station in Tokyo. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP) He was infamously known as the 'Twitter killer', who was convicted of murdering and dismembering nine people after contacting them through social media. AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS / STR / Japan OUT The case sent shockwaves across Japan and brought national attention to the dangers of social media platforms being used to exploit vulnerable individuals. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT The case sent shockwaves across Japan and brought national attention to the dangers of social media platforms being used to exploit vulnerable individuals. Shiraishi had reached out to victims aged between 15 and 26 who had posted online about suicidal thoughts. Using an alias that roughly translated to 'hangman,' he lured them to his apartment under the pretence of helping them die, according to the Jiji news agency. In court, Shiraishi admitted to murdering the victims to fulfil his own sexual desires, as reported by NHK and TV Asahi. He was found guilty of murder, rape, and dismemberment, and stored the remains in his home. His lawyer initially appealed the death sentence, but the appeal was later withdrawn. Victim, 23-year-old Aiko Tamura, from Hachioji Tokyo city Japan. In court, Shiraishi admitted to murdering the victims to fulfil his own sexual desires. / AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS / STR / Japan OUT '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 during a press conference on Friday. Suzuki confirmed that he had signed the execution order after 'careful and deliberate consideration of all factors.' In Japan, executions by hanging are carried out in secrecy, with dates not disclosed in advance. Families and legal representatives are typically notified only after the execution has occurred. Originally published as Japan executes 'Twitter killer' Takahiro Shiraishi, who dismembered nine victims he found on social media
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Cassius Turvey's killers sentenced in the WA Supreme Court over the murder of the Perth schoolboy
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The Australian
3 hours ago
- The Australian
Cassius Turvey's killers sentenced in the WA Supreme Court over the murder of the Perth schoolboy
Applause erupted in the WA Supreme Court after a group of violent men who sought revenge over misguided rage that led to horrific murder of Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey were handed their sentence in the WA Supreme Court. Cassius, 15, was set upon by three men and beaten with a shopping trolley handle over petty grievances that had nothing to do with him while walking with friends after school on October 13, 2022. The boy died from his injuries in hospital 10 days later. Four days before the attack the group of violent 'thugs' kidnapped two young boys at knifepoint off suburban streets in Perth's east over threats made between other children that did not involve them. Jack Brearley has been sentenced in the WA Supreme Court for the murder of Cassius Turvey. Jack Brearley, 24, and Brodie Palmer, 30, were both found guilty of murdering Cassius, who was struck twice with a shopping trolley pole. Mitchel Forth, 27, and Aleesha Gilmore, 23, were also charged with murder over Cassius's death. A jury found Forth not guilty of Cassius's murder but guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. Gilmore was found not guilty of both murder and manslaughter. A fifth man, Ethan McKenzie, 21, was not charged with murder but faced other charges over a separate incident involving Brearley, Gilmore and Forth four days before Cassius was killed. The jury found them guilty of all other charges, including the deprivation of liberty of the two boys who were held against their will. On Friday, Palmer was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non parole period of 18 years by Supreme Court Chief Justice Peter Quinlan. Brearley struck Cassius with a metal pole causing the vulnerable child to suffer fatal injuries. He was involved in most of the offences that occurred over the four days and was sentenced to 22 years in jail he will be eligible for parole in October 23, 2044. 'You have no remorse whatsoever, you letter to me expresses regret for your actions or behaviour but does not mention what they were or mentions the name Cassius Turvey,' chief justice Quinlan said. 'You cannot make amends when you do not acknowledge the pain you have cause. 'You tried to frame an innocent man, then said your co-accused was the killer.' McKenzie was sentenced for two years and six months for his role in kidnapping two boys and stabbing one. He will be eligible for parole on November 25. Gilmore was sentenced to three years and nine months for her role in snatching boys off the street and the assault of another. She received a conditional suspended sentence and will be placed on a strict supervision order and a curfew requirement for six months. Forth was involved in all the offences but was described as a follower tying to be a tough guy that did not physically harm the victims. He was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, he will be eligible for parole on January 19, 2033. Cassius Turvey's mother Mechelle told a court on Thursday it would take lifetimes to heal from her son's senseless and violent murder by a group of vigilante adults. Picture: NewsWire/Philip Gostelow Cassius' mother told a court on Thursday it would take lifetimes to heal from her son's senseless and violent murder by a group of vigilante adults. Mechelle Turvey said the attack on her son was racially motivated and young Aboriginal children were racially vilified before they were chased down by her son's killers, in a victim impact statement to the WA Supreme Court. While the prosecution argued it was not a racially motivated attack during the three month trial, Chief Justice Peter Quinlan told the court the group used racially charged language and racial slurs, calling them 'n words and black c. ts.' 'It is not a surprise when non-Aboringal men set upon Aboriginal kids and beats a boy so badly that it kills him, the kids thought they were being set upon because they were Aboriginal,' he said. 'That fear is real and is legitimate but it was your actions Brearlely, Palmer and Forth and you are responsible for that fear.' Mechelle Turvey arrives at court with supporters and police for the sentencing of her son's killers in the WA Supreme Court. Picture: NewsWire/Philip Gostelow Chief Justice Quinlan said Cassius was robbed of his life and the promise of becoming a community leader because Brearley cut his life short in an act of violent aggression. The chief justice said Brearley lacked any credibility and deliberately lied during his evidence and tried to frame an innocent person for the murder of a child. 'You are very bad liar Mr Brearley, your lies are often obvious and completely incredible,' he said. Cassius Turvey's killers have been sentenced over his violent and senseless death in 2022. i He said he was satisfied it was Brearley who struck Cassius but his co-offenders intended to chase children armed with weapons and cause them harm. He said all the offending involved children and vigilante behaviour over imagined grievances that saw the accused take the law into their own hands. He said the boy who was stabbed and forced to get into a car with the three adult men who had beaten him up for no reason would have been terrified. He said witnesses told the court they saw people in the car wearing balaclavas and a boy covered in blood, shocked and scared. More to come.
