The suspect in the serial killings of nine people in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, was indicted Monday on a charge of murdering and dismembering them in his apartment last year after prosecutors determined he was mentally competent enough to be held criminally liable.
The decision about Takahiro Shiraishi's mental health came after about five months of psychiatric tests. Shiraishi, 27, has admitted to the crimes and is believed to have preyed on people who expressed suicidal thoughts on the internet.
According to the indictment, Shiraishi killed and dismembered eight females and one male ranging in age from 15 to 26 from August to October 2017. The mutilated bodies of the victims, who were from Tokyo and four other prefectures, were found in coolers in his apartment.