Takahiro Shiraishi, Japan’s Twitter killer, hopes to marry ‘normal girl’ before execution

Takahiro Shiraishi, 30, has been dubbed the “Twitter killer” for his tactic of befriending lonely people on the internet who had expressed a desire to kill themselves, before luring them back to his flat in Zushi and strangling them. He murdered eight women and one man, aged between 15 and 26, from August to October 2017.

When police entered Shiraishi’s flat, they found the heads and arm and leg bones from his victims stored in cooler boxes.

Found guilty of murder, forced sexual intercourse and robbery, Shiraishi has said he will not appeal against his death sentence – but he still hopes to be able to marry.

In an interview with the Mainichi newspaper conducted at the Tachikawa Detention House after his punishment was announced, Shiraishi said he “thought nothing” when he was sentenced to hang.

“I thought I might feel something,” he said. “But I didn’t sweat and my heart was not pounding or anything. I already knew full well what was coming.”

Shiraishi said his primary aim was now to get married. “If I do, she could see me even when I go to the Tokyo Detention House,” he said, referring to the facility in the capital where inmates are permitted to see their families while they await their execution by hanging.

“Several people have come in the last two years, but nothing has led to marriage. I get these kinds of fan letters sometimes too, but there are not many women who are the type of person to come and see me here.”