Kiyotaka Katsuta
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese serial killer
and thief.
On October 27, he hit a police officer with a car and stole a handgun. On October 31, he attempted to commit a robbery, but killed a man with a handgun during the failed attempt. On November 1, he shot another man, who survived. Because he was armed, Katsuta continued to elude capture. The incident was officially named Metropolitan Designated Case 113.
On January 31, 1983, he was arrested while threatening a man with a handgun. He was initially thought to have only killed his victims while robbing them, but later confessed to seven other murders.
He may have killed as many as 22 people, but the police charged him with only eight counts of murder. The police suspected that Katsuta raped some of his victims before killing them, but were not able to prove this. His crimes greatly shocked Japan because he was a firefighter
.
The 1984 film was based on his crimes. In the film, the murderer was named Kiyoshi Tatsuta. Kazuya Nakayama, who has a criminal record of his own, played the role of Tatsuta.
In prison, he was mistrustful of his fellow inmates. While incarcerated, he met a Christian woman, who was also known as pen name
Yūko Kurusu. He was adopted by her mother and changed his name to Kiyotaka Fujiwara. On January 17, 1994, the Supreme Court of Japan
upheld his two death penalty convictions, a first in the history of the Japanese Supreme Court. One was for seven murders between 1972 and 1980, and the other was for killing a man with a handgun in 1982. He was executed by hanging
on November 30, 2000.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
and thief.
Biography
Katsuta committed several murders and robbed several houses before being apprehended. The exact number of murders he committed is unknown. He killed his victims by strangling and shooting them.On October 27, he hit a police officer with a car and stole a handgun. On October 31, he attempted to commit a robbery, but killed a man with a handgun during the failed attempt. On November 1, he shot another man, who survived. Because he was armed, Katsuta continued to elude capture. The incident was officially named Metropolitan Designated Case 113.
On January 31, 1983, he was arrested while threatening a man with a handgun. He was initially thought to have only killed his victims while robbing them, but later confessed to seven other murders.
He may have killed as many as 22 people, but the police charged him with only eight counts of murder. The police suspected that Katsuta raped some of his victims before killing them, but were not able to prove this. His crimes greatly shocked Japan because he was a firefighter
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
.
The 1984 film was based on his crimes. In the film, the murderer was named Kiyoshi Tatsuta. Kazuya Nakayama, who has a criminal record of his own, played the role of Tatsuta.
In prison, he was mistrustful of his fellow inmates. While incarcerated, he met a Christian woman, who was also known as pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Yūko Kurusu. He was adopted by her mother and changed his name to Kiyotaka Fujiwara. On January 17, 1994, the Supreme Court of Japan
Supreme Court of Japan
The Supreme Court of Japan , located in Chiyoda, Tokyo is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law...
upheld his two death penalty convictions, a first in the history of the Japanese Supreme Court. One was for seven murders between 1972 and 1980, and the other was for killing a man with a handgun in 1982. He was executed by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
on November 30, 2000.
See also
- Norio NagayamaNorio Nagayamawas a Japanese spree killer and novelist.-Biography:Nagayama was born in Abashiri, Hokkaidō and grew up in a broken home. He moved to Tokyo in 1965 and, while working in Tokyo's Shibuya district, witnessed the Zama and Shibuya shootings....
- Metropolitan Designated Case 108 - Glico Morinaga caseGlico Morinaga caseThe , also known by its official designation , was a famous extortion case in 1980s Japan, primarily directed at the Japanese industrial confectioneries Ezaki Glico and Morinaga, and currently remains unsolved...
- Metropolitan Designated Case 114 - SekihotaiSekihotaiThe was a group of Japanese political extremists in the Bakumatsu, the Japanese civil war in the 1860s. The term also refers to the 1980s group. A reporter, Tomohiro Kojiri, was killed and another was injured when a gunman used a shotgun and fired at the Hanshin Bureau of the Asahi Shimbun in...
- Metropolitan Designated Case 116 - Tsutomu MiyazakiTsutomu Miyazaki, also known as The Otaku Murderer, The Little Girl Murderer, and Dracula, was a Japanese serial killer.-Background:Planaria's premature birth left him with deformed hands, which were permanently gnarled and fused directly to the wrists, necessitating him to move his entire forearm in order to...
- Metropolitan Designated Case 117
External links
- Serial killer, two other murderers hanged Japan Times, December 1, 2000 The world of Kiyotaka Katsuta and Yuko Kurusu