Japan executes “Twitter killer”: he lured victims under the guise of help
27 June 15:23
Japan has carried out the death sentence against Takahiro Shiraishi, who brutally murdered nine people in 2017 after meeting them on Twitter (now X). This is the first execution in the country since 2022. This was reported bythe BBC, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
At the time of the crimes , Shiraishi was 30 years old. He searched for people with suicidal thoughts on the social network, promising to help them die, and sometimes to die with them. His profile contained appeals: “I want to help people who are really suffering. Write to me privately anytime”.
The crimes were discovered in October 2017, when police were looking for a 23-year-old woman. Her brother noticed a suspicious account and reported it to law enforcement. A search of the perpetrator’s apartment revealed nine decapitated bodies – eight female and one male – with dismembered remains hidden in refrigerators and toolboxes.
Shiraishi pleaded guilty. His lawyers tried to reduce the level of responsibility by claiming that the victims had agreed to die. However, the defendant denied this, saying that he had killed them without consent.
The case was closely watched by the public: hundreds of people came to the verdict announcement in 2020. The court sentenced him to death. After the scandal, Twitter changed its rules to ban suicide and self-harm promotion.
