Illustrative image of Twitter.
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DAMIEN MEYER / AFP
He is suspected of having murdered and dismembered nine people contacted on social networks.
The trial of the man nicknamed the "Twitter killer" opened in Japan on Wednesday.
When questioned by a Tokyo court, the accused pleaded guilty, local media reported.
Takahiro Shiraishi, 29, who is accused of storing the skinned bodies of his victims in coolers, did not dispute the nine murder charges he faces, saying they "are all correct" , reported the public broadcaster NHK.
His contact found in the messages of a victim
It was on Halloween morning in 2017 that the police discovered a house of horrors at Takahiro Shiraishi's house: nine dismembered bodies with no less than 240 pieces of bone hidden in coolers and toolboxes, sprinkled with litter. for cat to try to cover up the evidence.
The man is believed to have lured victims aged 15 to 26 with suicidal tendencies via Twitter by telling them he could help them with their plans or even die alongside them.
Police arrested Takahiro Shiraishi three years ago while investigating the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman who allegedly tweeted that she wanted to kill herself.
After the young woman's disappearance, her brother would have managed to connect to his Twitter account and would have noticed a suspicious username in his exchanges.
More than 600 people lined up outside the court to try to secure one of the 13 public seats for the first hearing, NHK said.
Lawyers for the defendant are asking that the charges be reduced to "murder with consent", which carries only a sentence of six months to seven years in prison, arguing that the victims consented to be killed, according to the report. NHK.
If convicted of murder, Takahiro Shiraishi faces the death penalty, which is executed by hanging in Japan.
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