Japanese 'Twitter killer' sentenced to death
In this file photo taken in 2017, Takahiro Shiraishi covers his face inside a police car in Tokyo.
A Japanese man dubbed the “Twitter killer” was sentenced to death by a Tokyo court on Tuesday for murdering and dismembering nine people he met online.
Takahiro Shiraishi, 30, admitted killing and butchering his young victims who he met on the social media platform.
His lawyers had argued he should receive a prison sentence because his victims, aged between 15 and 26, expressed suicidal thoughts on social media and so had consented to death.
But on Tuesday “the death sentence was handed down” to Shiraishi, a court official said.
“None of the nine victims consented to be killed, including silent consent,” public broadcaster NHK quoted the judge.
“It is extremely grave that the lives of nine young people were taken away. The dignity of the victims was trampled upon,” the judge reportedly added.
