"Twitter Killer" Assisting Victims to Commit Suicide Is Sentenced to Death

Takahiro Shiraishi — Source: Youtube

On Halloween 2017, the Japanese police made a macabre discovery: 27-year-old Takahiro Shiraishi was hiding the dismembered, rotting corpses of 9 people in his 13.5 squared-meter loft apartment in Zama, near Tokyo.

Shiraishi kept the human remains of his victims, eight female and one male, aged 15–26, in a set of coolers and toolboxes; their bones covered in cat litter in an attempt to hide all evidence against him, including the stench of decomposing flesh.

His only male victim was identified as Shogo Nishinaka, the boyfriend of Mizuki Miura, the first woman Shiraishi had killed. Suspecting Shiraishi was behind her disappearance, the 20-year-old man personally confronted the killer, who had no choice but to murder him in order to silence him, leaving no loose ends.

Actively targeting female Twitter users expressing suicidal tendencies, Shiraishi had been luring them into his place where he murdered them between August and September 2017. His Twitter bio read, “I want to help people who are really in pain. Please DM me anytime.”

Takahiro Shiraishi’s Twitter profile, under username “hangingpro” before it was suspended — Source: Twitter

Shiraishi offered his assistance, advertising himself as a “professional at hanging,” claiming he would join them in their suicide attempt, or simply convincing them he wanted to witness the moment they killed themselves.

Background, rationale, and MO

Shiraishi is described by former school classmates as a person who “didn’t especially stand out but was not a gloomy character either, a good listener rather than someone who would speak about himself,” and “normal, inconspicuous, and low profile.”

Despite his seemingly normal behavior, a former acquaintance reported that Shiraishi and some of his classmates would often play choking games for fun. The man recalls an occasion when Shiraishi fainted while he was being choked by one of his friends.

Before becoming a serial killer, Shiraishi had been arrested for recruiting women for the local brothels in Kabukicho, Tokyo’s largest red-light district. He was detained after his photo was made public via Twitter, which came with a warning for locals to watch out for him. After being released from prison, Shiraishi told his father he “saw no meaning in life.”

That’s when he started using Twitter as a means to target young female users with suicidal tendencies, using the opportunity to rape them and steal their money. He would regard this as a perfect chance to channel his fantasies without fear of rejection, as he could dispose of his victims shortly after.

According to Japanese newspapers, the bodies found by the police showed signs of strangulation, including broken vertebrae, and bruises revealing gruesome choking. After his victims had passed out, he would abuse them, and then he would proceed to chop them into pieces.

He recalls his first time dismembering a corpse taking him three days, but then “from the second person, [he] was able to do it within one day.” He would later dispose of the organs in trash bags but kept the bones as he feared they would be easy to spot and trace back to him.

The victims

A total of nine people were killed by Shiraishi, one in August, four in September, and four in October 2017.

• Akari Suda, female, 17, from Fukushima.
• Kureha Ishihara, female, 15, from Oura.
• Natsumi Kubo, female, 17, from Saitama.
• Hinako Sarashina, female, 19, from Tokorozawa.
• Hitomi Fujima, female, 26, from Kasukabe.
• Aiko Tamura, female, 23, from Hachioji, Tokyo.
• Mizuki Miura, female, 21, from Atsugi.
• Shogo Nishinaka, male, 20, from Yokosuka.
• Kazumi Maruyama, 25, from Yokohama.

The investigation leading to a macabre discovery

Shiraishi was finally caught after the brother of one of his victims found messages from him in his missing sister’s Twitter account. Aided by one of the killer’s former acquaintances, he tricked Shiraishi into revealing himself to the police, who followed him home and inspected his loft apartment on October 30th, 2017.

Confronted by the authorities, the killer offered no resistance. When questioned about the missing girl’s whereabouts, he merely pointed at a cooler by the entrance of his apartment, saying “in there.” Neighbors would later testify to the rotting stench coming from his apartment, despite the use of cat litter to disguise it.

Outside view and inside layout of Shiraishi’s loft apartment. The yellow boxes contained the remains of his victims — Source: Reddit via Mainichi Shimbun Sunday Time Graphics

Conviction and trial

After five months of psychiatric assessment, the killer was found mentally fit and fully aware of his role in the murder of his 9 victims. And so, on December 15th, 2020, the now 30-year-old Takahiro Shiraishi was sentenced to death.

He pleaded guilty to the murders and claimed he would not appeal to his sentence. Ironically, the Japanese execution method is typically carried out by hanging, the same technique he claimed to be experienced in.

His lawyers, however, argued his sentence should be minimized as his victims gave explicit consent to be killed and walked into his apartment in the full knowledge that they were going to die there. Shiraishi’s lawyers also claimed that, despite forensic evidence that the victims fought back, they were merely acting on survival instinct.

Naokuni Yano, the judge in charge, disagreed saying, “None of the nine victims consented to be killed, including by silent consent. It is extremely grave that the lives of nine young people were taken away. The viciousness of the crimes was on a level rarely seen in Japan’s history. In a society where social media is deeply rooted, they have shaken people to the core. To lure victims who were mentally weak can only be called cunning and despicable.”

Aftermath

Relatives of Shiraishi’s victims are still struggling to accept the fate of their loved ones. The brother of one of the victims claimed his heart “died” upon hearing Shiraishi’s confession, and compared the pain he felt to being stabbed with a sharp knife repeatedly.

Despite its low murder numbers, Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, one that is on the rise during 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. The Japanese even have their favorite “suicide spots”, the most infamous of all being the forest of Aokigahara, at the base of Mount Fuji.

The shocking case of the Twitter Killer has prompted the Japanese government to double efforts to reach out to those battling with depression and suicidal thoughts. The incident also prompted Twitter to update its policies, prohibiting users from promoting or encouraging suicide or self-harm in any way.

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