Zama Suicide Pact Slayings
The Zama Suicide Pact slayings was a multiple homicide occurring in Zama, Japan, in November 2017, in which nine people, mostly young women including 3 high school girls, were killed by a 27-year-old man, Takahiro Shiraishi (Japanese: 白石隆浩[1]).
Background
Takahiro Shiraishi was living in an apartment in Zama, a city southwest of Tokyo. Allegedly, he put out an advertisement asking people to come to his house so he could watch them commit suicide. He offered to either assist, or watch them kill themselves.[2] A friend of his indicated that he had indulged in choking games with school friends, and signs of his later victims indicated that they had been choked to death.[3]
Before his move to Zama, Shirashi had worked as a "Kaori Scouto" (a scout who lures women into brothels to work in the sex industry) in Kabukicho, Tokyo's biggest red light district. At this stage, people had started warning locals about him, describing him as a "creepy scout".[3] Shiraishi then moved from Tokyo into an apartment in Zama in August 2017.[4]
Investigation and arrest
One of the missing women's brothers started an investigation on his own to find his sister. A woman assisted him by contacting Shiraishi, and setting up a fake appointment. They both involved the police.
The police then arrived at the apartment and asked where the missing woman was. Shiraishi indicated she was in the freezer. Police found nine dead bodies in the house, all of which had been dismembered. In three cooler boxes and five large storage boxes, police found heads, legs and arms from his victims.[5] Neighbours corroborated the events by confirming that foul smells of rotting flesh had come from the house. Shiraishi had discarded elements of the people into his bin, which had been taken away in the recycled rubbish. Eight of the nine of his victims were women in their late teens to early twenties.[5]
Police investigation had confirmed the missing woman had been walking with the alleged murderer on 23 October.[6]
Shiraishi, confessed to killing and dismembering the nine people. Shiraishi had told his father his life had no meaning, before he committed the murders.[7]
He claimed his motive was sex. He wanted to use his victims vulnerable states to manipulate and sexually assault them, fulfilling his fantasies and not having to worry about them denying his advances.[8]
References
- "「カネ」に執着 座間9遺体事件から1年、白石被告の素顔". The Sankei News (in Japanese). 28 October 2018. p. 1. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- Ramsland Ph.D., Katherine (29 December 2017). "Notable Crimes of 2017". Psychology Today. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- "How Japans suspected serial killer went quiet child sex trade scout" SBS Auzsstralia 2/11/17 http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/11/02/how-japans-suspected-serial-killer-went-quiet-child-sex-trade-scout
- Rich, Motoko New York Times "Japan Serial Killer Takahiro Shiraishi" https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/world/asia/japan-serial-killer-takahiro-shiraishi.html
- Sim, Walter. "Inside the mind of the Japanese serial killer who killed 9 people". Straitstimes. Straitstimes. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
- Yamaguchi, Mari "Japan Serial Killer Suicide Pact Women Murder Nine Victims Takahiro Shiraishi Zama" The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japan-serial-killer-suicide-pact-women-murder-nine-victims-takahiro-shiraishi-zama-a8030751.html
- Sim, Walter (5 November 2017). "Inside the mind of the Japanese serial killer who killed 9 people". The Straits Times. Tokyo, Japan: Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- "Takahiro Shiraishi". Generation Why Podcast. Generation Why Podcast. Retrieved 5 December 2018.