A Tokyo man has pleaded guilty to murder charges after confessing to murdering nine people he met on Twitter in 2017.
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Earlier this week, 29-year-old Takahiro Shiraishi aka “The Twitter Killer” confessed in court that he had met women via Twitter and other social media websites who told him that they had suicidal thoughts. After meeting his victims, he lured them to his apartment in Zama where he raped, robbed them strangled them to death. Authorities also said he dismembered three female high school students, four young women, and a 20-year-old man who was the boyfriend of one of the female victims.
The shocking case has led authorities in Japan to observe websites that allow people to post content about suicide and Twitter also enforced new policies regarding suicide and self-harm.
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The Guardian also reported Shiraishi was caught by one of the victim’s brother in October 2017 when they discovered messages from Shiraishi after searching through her Twitter account. He asked a female friend to contact Shiraishi so they could arrange a meeting and contacted the police. While searching through his apartment, they discovered several body parts in his freezer and neighbors also reported foul smells coming from the apartment.
He is expected to be sentenced on December 15 and if convicted, Shiraishi will be sentenced to death due to the severity of his crimes.