Japan's 'Black Widow' murderer dies while on death row

Chisako Kakehi was found guilty of killing three elderly lovers by poisoning them with cyanide, and attempting to murder another man. She had been on death row since 2017.

A Japanese death row inmate known as the "Black Widow" for killing multiple elderly lovers has died, officials said on Friday.

Chisako Kakehi was sentenced to death for murdering three men, including her husband, and the attempted murder of a fourth man between 2007 and 2013.

"Her death was confirmed at a hospital on Thursday" after she was found lying in her cell at an Osaka detention center, an official from Japan's Justice Ministry told the AFP news agency.

She was 78 years old. She had been seeking a retrial in one of the three murder cases, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency, but had already been rebuffed in a lower court.
Who was the 'Black Widow'?

Kakehi had several relationships with elderly or ill men.

She met some of them through dating agencies, where she stipulated that prospective partners must be wealthy and childless.

In 2017, she was sentenced to death after a court found she had murdered three partners by poisoning them with cyanide and attempted to murder a fourth.

Kakehi reportedly amassed one billion yen (roughly $9 million at the time) in insurance payouts and inheritance over 10 years. But she subsequently lost most of the money through unsuccessful financial trading.

Her death sentence was upheld by Japan's Supreme Court in 2021, with judge 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 said.

Japan is among a small number of developed democracies to still use capital punishment. However, it only carried one out in 2022, and none in 2023, according to Amnesty International.

zc, msh/rc (AFP)