Kanae Kijima, Japanese Lonely Hearts Serial Killer - 2009

On April 13, 2012, Kanae Kijima, 37, was sentenced to death by presiding judge, Kazuyuki Okuma, in Saitama district court, for three murders of three men: Yoshiyuki Oide, 41; Keizo Ando, 80; Hideki Maruyama, 53. The judge stated that “There is no room for leniency as the defendant committed the crimes for selfish purposes. She reiterated irrational excuses in court and did not show any remorse.”

Dubbed “Konkatsu Killer” by the media for the konkatsu (marriage-hunting) sites she frequented, she met the men on internet dating sites and poisoned them with carbon monoxide by burning charcoal briquettes after giving them sleeping pills. Kijima reportedly set up each death to look like a suicide: In the latest case, she’s suspected of putting a sedative in one man’s beef stew then poisoning him with carbon monoxide.

The trial featured two opposing narratives: prosecutors said she killed the men so she would not have to pay back the money they had given her. Kijima’s lawyer said they had either committed suicide because broke up with them or died by accident.

In her blog and dating profiles, Kajima portrayed herself as an accomplished cook with expensive tastes in clothes and jewelry. She cropped and altered photos of herself to make herself look more attractive. She’d usually pose as a prospective bride, but sometimes she played a nurse or therapist to better lure a specific target. In just a few years, she allegedly made $2.2 million off her various paramours.

When Kijima’s apartment in Tokyo was searched on Nov 3, 2009, police found vast amounts of medicine, including cold remedies and drugs known to induce drowsiness, that had been prescribed by at least 10 different doctors. Traces of different sleeping medicines were found in the bodies of three other men who died in similarly suspicious circumstances, and all of whom had met Kijima through lonely heart websites.

Yoshiyuki Oide, a 41-year-old from Tokyo, was found dead in August of carbon monoxide poisoning in his car, a common method of committing suicide in Japan, yet unusual because the keys were not in the locked vehicle and shortly after he had transferred Y5 million (£33,175) to his “fiancee.”

Keizo Ando, 80, was an invalid who died in May in a house fire. Kijima had served as his nurse, was seen at his home in Chiba Prefecture the day before the fire and had withdrawn money from his bank account.

Four additional victims are suspected: The naked body of Sadao Fukuyama, a shop manager, was found at his home in Chiba Prefecture after he had loaned Kijima Y74 million (£491,000), and another boyfriend, identified as 53-year-old Takao Terada, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning at his home in Tokyo in February. The body of Kazumi Yabe was discovered on the seabed in April after he apparently died in a fishing accident, Hideki Maruyama was found face-down in a stream in October and an unnamed journalist was run down by a train in May 2004.

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Prosecutors seek noose for alleged triple boyfriend killer

JapanTimes.co.jp

March 13, 2012

SAITAMA — Prosecutors demanded the death penalty Monday for a woman charged with killing three ex-boyfriends in 2009 and disguising their deaths as carbon monoxide poisonings.

In their closing arguments at the lay judge trial presided over by Kazuyuki Okuma at the Saitama District Court, prosecutors said Kanae Kijima, 37, has shown no remorse over the deaths.

Kijima pleaded not guilty. She said the men either committed suicide after arguing with her over their breakups, or died by accident.

The prosecutors said the defendant began dating the men because she wanted to live in luxury, then killed them so they couldn't demand repayment. They also said she took money from one of the men's bank accounts.

They also pointed out that all three died of carbon monoxide poisoning, and claimed that Kijima prepared the coal briquettes and stoves herself and would meet with the men until just before their deaths.

Despite the absence of direct evidence linking Kijima to the crimes, such as witness testimony or even a confession, the prosecutors said these factors are sufficient proof of her guilt.

The bodies were found from January to August 2009. Takao Terada, 53, and Kenzo Ando, 80, were found dead at their homes in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, while Yoshiyuki Oide, 41, was found in a rental car in Saitama.

The indictment said Kijima used the briquettes and stoves to disguise the slayings as suicides.

Kijima's defense team will make its final argument Tuesday. The court will rule on April 13.

Accused killer got 100 mil. yen from elderly man

The Yomiuri Shimbun

February 19, 2012

A woman on trial for allegedly murdering three men and faking their suicides has testified that she received nearly 100 million yen from an elderly man she had known.

Kanae Kijima, 37, on Friday told the Saitama District Court about her past relationships with men and the amount of money involved. Her lawyers likely will try to present Kijima as a woman who has no objections to accepting money from men and was seriously looking for a marriage partner who would assist her financially.

The defense questioned Kijima mainly about her relationship with an elderly man in Chiba Prefecture, whom she met in June 2001.

"I lived a luxurious life when I was young, so I can't lower the quality of my life," Kijima said she told the man when he asked about her attitude toward money.

Kijima also said the man gave her "nearly 100 million yen, I think" and that she never felt the amount of money was inappropriate.

About her life after the man died in 2007, she said, "I thought the best thing would be to find a man [who would help me financially]."

Prosecutors claimed Kijima registered with a matchmaking website to get money from other men after her elderly benefactor in Chiba Prefecture died. They assert she killed three men, including Yoshiyuki Oide, 41, to end their relationships after she cheated them out of money.

Prosecutors pointed out that a component of sleeping pills detected in Oide's body was also found on a mortar and pestle police seized from Kijima's house after Oide's death.

During its questioning, the defense also touched on the way Kijima took medicine, stating she took sleeping pills after grinding them with the mortar and pestle. The defense is expected to claim the presence of the sleeping pill component is irrelevant.

The following are Kijima's answers to questions from her lawyers.

Q: You met a man from Chiba Prefecture in 2001, correct?

A: I applied for a job he posted on the Internet, because the salary was 200,000 yen a month. I cleaned and prepared his meals about once a week at first.

From the second month, I received 300,000 yen in addition to my salary. I gradually stopped hesitating, and I think I received nearly 100 million yen in total from the man.

Q: Did the man not say anything about the situation?

A: He told me it wasn't necessary for me to change, as I lived according to special values and my charm was that I wasn't aware of it.

Q: Later the man became ill and stopped sending you money, right?

A: I thought the best thing was to find a man like him, and I joined a dating service website [before joining a matchmaking website]. I sometimes went to a hotel and received money. I had no compunction about taking it.

Q: You visited a psychiatrist for the first time in March 2005, didn't you?

A: I had insomnia. I was diagnosed with depression and prescribed sleeping pills.

Q: Have you prepared medicine by grinding it?

A: I ground the pills using a mortar and pestle. I didn't want the staff at the pension where I often stayed to know what kind of medicine I took.

Trial of 'black widow' killer begins

JapanToday.com

January 11, 2012

SAITAMA — The trial of Kanae Kijima, 37, the woman who is accused of murder following the suspicious deaths of three men in Saitama, Tokyo and Chiba in 2009, got under way on Tuesday.

The trial, which is taking place in Saitama, began with Kijima adamantly declaring her innocence. Observers say that both prosecution and defense counsel are strongly contesting each point.

Because there is no evidence that directly links Kijima to the murders, the prosecution has been focusing on details such as the suicide paraphernalia Kijima is believed to have purchased online and the money that her alleged victims transferred into her bank accounts.

According to NTV, one of Kijima’s alleged victims, Yoshiyuki Oide, was found dead on the back seat of his rented car near Tokyo in 2009 in an apparent suicide. The car contained a charcoal burner of the type which had been used in a growing number of suicides in Japan. However, investigators were puzzled to find there were no keys in the ignition.

Suspicions were further aroused when it emerged that less than 24 hours before his death, Oide had written about Kijima on his blog, writing, “At 41, I’m actually looking forward to getting married, and today I’ll meet my partner’s family,” NTV reported.

An autopsy showed that Oide had died from carbon monoxide poisoning, but that his blood also contained traces of sleeping pills. Just before his death he had transferred ¥5m to Kijima’s bank account.

Kijima is accused of murdering Oide and as many as five other men she met via online marriage sites, by drugging them with sleeping pills and disguising their deaths as suicides or accidents.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, Kijima also worked as a home help for Kenzo Ando, an 80-year-old man who died in a house fire in May. An autopsy on his body revealed that it contained traces of sleeping drugs. Kijima had visited his home the same day and was captured by CCTV cameras withdrawing money using his cash card.

Kijima, a mother of five and nicknamed the “black widow”, would reportedly agree to marriage and then claim to be in desperate need of cash to complete her studies before she could go through with the marriage.

According to one weekly magazine, in an email to a 70-year-old lover she claimed that her parents had been killed in a plane crash and that she needed money to complete her music studies in the US. The man was later found dead at his home.

Police say that Kijima, who claims to have worked as a nurse and a piano teacher, possessed multiple prescriptions for sleeping pills of the type found in her alleged victims. According to police, there is also evidence that she bought the items needed to cause carbon monoxide poisoning over the Internet.

Though she lived in an inexpensive rented apartment, Kijima was known to write about her extravagant lifestyle on her blog and was reportedly seen turning up to dates at luxury hotels in a red Mercedes.

Counsel for the defense is reportedly attempting to convince the jury that the deaths of Kijima’s lovers could all have been accidents or suicides. The jury’s services have been requested for an extended period as the trial is expected to last for up to 100 days. In total 63 witnesses are to be called, NTV reported.

Suspected ‘black widow’ Kanae Kijima with possible ties to nightclub host

Suspect linked to 6 suspicious deaths

By Kenji Nakano - The Tokyo Reporter

December 3, 2009

Documents related to the investigation of marriage fraud suspect Kanae Kijima reveal that she had an association with a nightclub host, reports Shukan Asahi (Dec. 11).

Saitama Prefectural Police have learned that the 34-year-old was probably supporting a male acquaintance, aged in his 30s and employed at a host club in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward. “He is the most important person in the investigation,” says a source close the investigation. “He is not showing up to work now. And he might be the reason for Kijima’s crimes. The money she got from these guys was used to feed and take care of him.”

The same documents indicate that police are presently building cases for murder around the suspicious deaths of six men, many of whom gave Kijima sizable sums of money. Thus far, Kijima has been arrested four times for defrauding multiple other men, in their 40s and 50s and residing in various prefectures across the Kanto region, out of a total of 7.7 million yen after posing as a prospective marriage partner. (That figure is an update by Shukan Asahi over previous reports.) The most recent arrest occurred on November 18.

The body of Yoshiyuki Oide, a 41-year-old company employee from Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, and a charcoal burner, a common tool used for committing suicide, was discovered inside a rented car in Fujimi, Saitama Prefecture on August 6. Investigators found that he was defrauded by Kijima for 5 million yen. An autopsy revealed that he had died of carbon-monoxide poisoning and that his body contained the remains of sleeping pills. Kijima was seen with him the day before his corpse was located.

Kenzo Ando, an 80-year-old invalid from Noda, Chiba Prefecture, died on May 15 in a house fire. Kijima had withdrawn money from his account and served as his nurse. She was seen at the residence the day before the incident. A charcoal stove was found at the scene and Ando’s system as well contained a sedative.

Two other men linked to the suspected “black widow” are also known to have died in a suspicious manner. Police have withheld information on two additional cases for which Kijima is being investigated.

Police have scoured business cards, emails and bank transaction records connected to Kijima. Investigators noticed a large gap between her expenditures and the income she received from the men whom she allegedly deceived. It is known that she collected a total of roughly 100 million yen, but only used between 10 and 20 million yen to purchase an imported car and other items.

Police found evidence that the Shinjuku host was providing instructions to the suspect via email. “Based on emails, this guy appears to have an intimate or close relationship with Kijima,” says the same source. “These emails include him teaching her how to use charcoal. The way they were written, it could be considered as advice for making murder seem like suicide. In exchange for the money he forced her to collect, he might have also been a good listener for dealing with issues related to those guys she trapped.”

The source adds that such deception is the nature of the host business — one in which women are known to run up bills amounting to hundreds of thousands of yen in one evening. “I am sure that as with with most host clubs what matters is sales,” the source comments. “The color of the money and how you got it doesn’t matter in the end.”

The same documents also indicate that Kijima had a regular boyfriend, who is referred to only as “S-san.” She is said to have regularly accompanied the man, in his 40s, on fishing trips to Fukushima Prefecture.

Shukan Asahi then visits the host club in Shinjuku. When asked about whether Kijima frequented the club, one veteran host quickly responds: “Although people are saying she’s been here, she has not.”

A representative within the club’s public relations department adds: “I haven’t heard a thing about her coming here.”

Japanese woman suspected of 'black widow' serial killings

Kanae Kijima accused of defrauding would-be husbands before disguising deaths as suicides and accidents

By Justin McCurry - Guardian.co.uk

November 9, 2009

When police discovered the body of Yoshiyuki Oide slumped on the back seat of his rented car near Tokyo this summer, they quickly assumed he had killed himself.

The car contained the paraphernalia of a growing number of suicides in Japan, although investigators were puzzled to find there were no keys in the ignition.

But their bafflement turned to suspicion when it emerged that Oide apparently had everything to live for. Less than 24 hours before his death the company worker from Tokyo had spoken of his joy at the prospect of getting married.

"At 41, I'm actually looking forward to getting married, and today I'll meet my partner's family," he wrote on his blog.

"Recently, we've spent all our time looking for a new place to live and talking about our new life together. This evening we're going on a two-night, three-day holiday."

An autopsy showed that Oide had died from carbon monoxide poisoning, but that his blood also contained traces of sleeping pills. Just before his death he had transferred ¥5m (£33,000) to his "fiancee's" bank account.

In a case that has gripped Japan, the woman Oide thought he was about to marry is suspected of murdering him and as many as five other men she befriended via online marriage sites.

The suspect, named by Japanese websites as Kanae Kijima, allegedly squeezed millions of yen out of her would-be suitors before drugging them with sleeping pills and disguising their deaths as suicides or accidents.

The copious column inches and air time devoted to the case since her arrest late last month portray the 34-year-old as a calculated serial killer who preyed on vulnerable men aged ranging in age from 27 to 80.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, Kijima also worked as a home help for Kenzo Ando, an 80-year-old man who died in a house fire in May and whose body contained traces of sleeping drugs. She had visited his home the same day and was filmed withdrawing money using his cash card.

Kijima, a mother of five now inevitably nicknamed the "black widow", would reportedly agree to marriage and then claim to be in desperate need of cash to complete her studies before she could tie the knot.

According to one weekly magazine, in an email to a 70-year-old lover later found dead at his home she said her parents had been killed in a plane crash and that she needed money to complete her music studies in the US.

The suspect, who claimed to have worked as a nurse and a piano teacher, reportedly had multiple prescriptions for sleeping pills of the type found in her alleged victims. There is also evidence that she bought the items needed to cause carbon monoxide poisoning over the internet.

Though she lived in a cheap rented flat, Kijima reportedly wrote about her opulent lifestyle on her blog. They weren't entirely empty boasts: she would reportedly turn up to dates at luxury hotels in a red Mercedes.