Zama deleted twitter postings apparently for cover-up

November 2, 2017

TOKYO- A 27-year-old man arrested after nine dismembered bodies were found in his apartment in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, has told investigators that he had deleted some of his Twitter postings, a move which police believe was an attempt to cover up his involvement in the case, informed sources said Thursday.

According to the sources, the suspect, Takahiro Shiraishi, had several accounts on the microblogging website. He has sent messages, such as "Let's die together," to those who were looking online for someone who would commit suicide together.

Shiraishi is believed to have met such suicide partner seekers in person and invited them to his home, with no intention to die together.

He has admitted that he met the victims to murder them, adding that he did not get their consent for killing, the sources said.

Shiraishi has told investigators that he was motivated by his desire for sex and money.

The police are analyzing data in his mobile phone, which he used to post messages on Twitter.

Judicial autopsies have found that two of the nine victims died within around one to two weeks and the others within around one to several months. Shiraishi has told investigators that he started the killings in late August.

After he was arrested on suspicion of body abandonment on Tuesday, Shiraishi initially said that the victims include minors. But he later avoided clear statements about this, according to the sources.

A summary court in Tachikawa, Tokyo, has issued a warrant of 10-day detention for Shiraishi until Nov. 10.

Since around June, Shiraishi has told his father that his life had no meaning and that he did not know what he was living for, the sources said. Jiji Press