Story By: James King, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash

The Japanese ‘Twitter Killer’ convicted of murdering nine people has said that he wants to marry someone so he can receive a visitor while on death row.

Takhiro Shiraishi was arrested in 2017 after the body parts of eight women and one man were found in his flat in the Japanese city of Zama on the day of Halloween.

The police searched his home while looking for a missing 23-year-old woman who was later found to be one of his victims.

Her brother had accessed her Twitter account and learned of the pair’s contact, alerting the police about the suspect and the location of his home, later dubbed the ‘house of horrors’.

When quizzed, the 30-year-old man admitted killing and dismembering his victims who were mostly young women he met on social media platforms, resulting in him being dubbed the ‘Twitter Killer’ by local media.

The body parts included nine heads as well as a large number of bones of arms and legs kept in various boxes.

His defence team argued that his victims had given their consent and provided evidence that the victims had been made aware that they would die. Shiraishi later admitted this was not true resulting in him being convicted and sentenced to death.

In an interview with Japanese newspaper The Mainichi this week, journalist Kazuki Mogami said Shiraishi was not worried about being sentenced to death, and had not changed his mind about not appealing the court decision.

Shiraishi was quoted as saying: “Almost no one comes to see me so extending (the period he can receive visitors while on appeal) seems pointless. Now I just want to meet a normal woman.

“I want to get married, is what I’m saying. If I do, she could continue to see me even when I’m in the Tachikawa Detention House (death row).”

Death row inmates are still allowed to see family members until the time of their execution.

The Twitter Killer added: “I want to find someone who will marry me in prison. Several people have come here in the last two years, but nothing led to marriage.

“I get fan mail sometimes too, but there are not many women who are the kind of person to come here to see me.”

Asked about his motivation for getting married, he said: “I was thinking it’d be good to have someone who supports me. She’d be able to come and see me here and bring me things.”

There is no date currently set for his execution.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Japan and usually reserved for cases of multiple murders. Executions are carried out by hanging.

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