A Japanese convict who was nicknamed the “Black Widow” after her used cyanide to kill her elderly loversdied at a detention center at the age of 78, officials said Friday.
Chisaka Kakehi was sentenced to death for killing three men, including her husbandand the attempted murder of another man about a decade ago in a case that swept Japan.
“Her death was confirmed at a hospital on Thursday” after she was found lying in a cell at a detention center in Osaka, a justice ministry spokesman told AFP.
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The cause of death has yet to be determined, he said. Japanese media said it could be due to an undisclosed illness.
Kakehi's death sentence was upheld in 2021, with Supreme Court Justice Yuko Miyazaki saying she “used cyanide against the men after forcing them to trust her as a life companion.”
“This is a calculated, brutal crime based on a strong intent to kill,” Miyazaki said.
Kakehi reportedly amassed one billion yen ($9 million at the time) in insurance payouts and inheritances over 10 years, but later lost most of the money through a botched financial trade.
She had relationships mostly with elderly or ill men and met some through dating agencies, where she reportedly stipulated that potential partners be wealthy and childless.
The poison was found in the bodies of at least two men she was involved with, and police reportedly found traces of cyanide in the garbage at her Kyoto home.
The deaths of her partners were not immediately investigated because police initially determined they died of illnesses and autopsies were not performed on most.
Her arrest came only after police discovered that her last husband, 75-year-old Isao Kakehi, had died of cyanide poisoning. The police then began to study earlier cases and discovered a pattern.