AFP :
A Japanese death-row inmate, dubbed the “Black Widow” after she used cyanide to kill her elderly lovers, has died in a detention centre at age 78, officials said on Friday.
Chisako Kakehi was sentenced to death for the murder of three men, including her husband, and the attempted murder of another man about a decade ago in a case that gripped Japan.
“Her death was confirmed at a hospital on Thursday” after she was found lying in her cell at the Osaka detention centre, a justice ministry official told AFP.
The cause of death has yet to be determined, he said. Japanese media said it could be from an undisclosed illness.
Kakehi’s death sentence was upheld in 2021, with Supreme Court judge Yuko Miyazaki saying she had “used cyanide on the men after making them trust her as a life partner”.
“It’s a calculated, cruel crime based on a strong intent of murder,” Miyazaki said.
Kakehi reportedly amassed one billion yen ($9 million at the time) in insurance payouts and inheritance over 10 years but subsequently lost most of the money through unsuccessful financial trading.
