Murderous stories of ‘black widow’ grip Japan
Print Edition
A JAPANESE “black widow” suspected of killing numerous partners for money, was still on the hunt for an “unattached elderly man with assets” when her fourth husband was poisoned with cyanide, reports said yesterday.
Chisako Kakehi, 67, who was arrested this week on suspicion of murdering her 75-year-old spouse, had received 1 billion yen (US$8.5 million) in insurance and other payouts over 10 years following the deaths of husbands and lovers.
But the former bank worker, who held the money in more than 10 different accounts under several different names, had lost most of the cash in bad bets on futures markets, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.
In a case that has gripped Japan for days, the Asahi newspaper reported Kakehi had been involved with more than 10 men over the last two decades, of whom six had perished.
Most of the men had been found through marriage agencies, where she would look for partners who had land or property, but no children, the paper quoted investigation sources as saying. Soon after Isao Kakehi — her fourth and most recent husband — died in December 2013, she was on the prowl for a new companion, it said. She wanted the man to be “elderly” and “living alone,” the paper said, citing an investigator.
She also made remarks suggesting that “it would be better if he has an illness.”
Kakehi, dubbed a “black widow” by some media for the female spider that eats its mate after coupling, has said she had serial relationships because she wanted peace of mind.
“I want to lead a peaceful life in my old age without scrambling for money but by relying on a decent man,” she told the private NTV network last month.
She inherited money from some of her unmarried partners as she had notary documents saying they would leave their money to her. Giving her such documents was “the minimum, necessary way of expressing their sincerity,” she said.
Over the course of several doomed relationships, Kakehi had inherited hundreds of millions of yen in real estate, bank deposits and insurance money, Jiji Press said. But she had racked up debts of 10 million yen by the time she married Isao Kakehi in November last year, Jiji Press said. He would be dead the following month.
Police who raided her home in Kyoto yesterday found traces of cyanide in the rubbish. They also found paraphernalia for administering drugs and medical books at an apartment she kept south of Kyoto.
Detectives began their investigation after an autopsy on husband No. 4 revealed cyanide in his blood. The post-mortem examination came after the September death of a 75-year-old boyfriend, who fell suddenly ill after the couple ate together at a restaurant. Kakehi denies any involvement in the deaths.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
