A Japanese death-row inmate, dubbed the “Black Widow” after she used cyanide to kill her aged lovers, has died in a detention middle at age 78, officers stated on Friday.
Chisako Kakehi was sentenced to dying for the homicide of three males, together with her husband, and the tried homicide of one other man a few decade in the past in a case that gripped Japan.
Her dying was confirmed at a hospital on Thursday after she was discovered mendacity in her cell on the Osaka detention middle, a justice ministry official informed AFP.
The reason for dying has but to be decided, he stated. Japanese media stated it could possibly be from an undisclosed sickness.
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Kakehi’s dying sentence was upheld in 2021, with Supreme Courtroom choose Yuko Miyazaki saying she had “used cyanide on the men after making them trust her as a life partner.”
“It’s a calculated, cruel crime based on a strong intent of murder,” Miyazaki stated.
Kakehi reportedly amassed one billion yen ($9 million on the time) in insurance coverage payouts and inheritance over 10 years however subsequently misplaced a lot of the cash by means of unsuccessful monetary buying and selling.
She had relationships primarily with aged or sick males and met some by means of courting companies, the place she reportedly stipulated that potential companions needs to be rich and childless.
The poison was discovered within the physique of a minimum of two of the boys she was concerned with and police reportedly discovered traces of cyanide within the garbage at her Kyoto house.
Her companions’ deaths weren’t investigated instantly as a result of police initially decided they died from sicknesses, with no autopsies being carried out on most.
Her arrest solely got here after police found her most up-to-date husband, 75-year-old Isao Kakehi, died from cyanide poisoning. Police then started wanting into the sooner circumstances and located a sample.
