Takahiro Shiraishi (白石隆浩, Shiraishi Takahiro; 9 October 1990 – 27 June 2025)[1][2] was a Japanese serial killer and rapist. He was also known as the "Twitter Killer", which he was labeled as in most media reports at the time of his sentencing. In Zama, Japan, between August and October 2017, he murdered nine people, eight of them being young women including three high school girls.[4][5]
Background
Shiraishi worked as a scout who lured women into brothels to work in the sex industry in Kabukichō, Tokyo's biggest red-light district. People warned locals about him, describing him as a "creepy scout".[6] Shiraishi moved to an apartment in Zama, Kanagawa, in August 2017.[7]
On the social media platform Twitter, Shiraishi invited suicidal people to his home, where he offered to either help them die or watch them kill themselves.[8] A friend indicated that Shiraishi had played choking games with schoolfriends, and signs of his later victims indicated that they had been strangled.[6]
Investigations and arrest
The apartment complex where the bodies were found
One of the missing women's brothers started an investigation to find his sister. A woman known only as "Yumi" assisted him by contacting Shiraishi and setting up a fake appointment. They both involved the police.[9]
The police arrived at the apartment and asked where the missing woman was.[10] Shiraishi indicated she was in the freezer. Police found nine dismembered bodies in the house. In three cooler boxes and five large storage boxes, police found heads, legs, and arms. Neighbors 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 garbage. The nine victims were eight women and one man, all of whom were between the ages of 15 and 26.[11]
The police investigation confirmed the missing woman had been walking with Shiraishi on 23 October.[12] Shiraishi confessed to killing and dismembering the nine people. Before he committed the murders, Shiraishi had told his father his life had no meaning.[11] Shiraishi 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.[13][better source needed]
Trial and execution
On 1 October 2020, Shiraishi pleaded guilty to nine murders.[14] On 15 December 2020, he was sentenced to death.[15] He indicated he would not appeal his sentence.[16] Shiraishi's death sentence was finalized in January 2021,[17] and he was executed by hanging on 27 June 2025.[18][19]
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