Yukio Yamaji (山地 悠紀夫, Yamaji Yukio, August 21, 1983 – July 28, 2009) was a Japanese serial killer. He murdered his own mother in 2000, was imprisoned, and then paroled in 2003. In 2005, two years after his release, he raped and then murdered a 27-year-old woman and her 19-year-old sister, for which he was sentenced to death. He was executed in 2009.
Yukio Yamaji | |
|---|---|
 Yukio Yamaji | |
| Born | August 21, 1983 |
| Died | July 28, 2009 (aged 25) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | Murder (3 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3 (including his mother) |
Span of crimes | July 29, 2000 – November 17, 2005 |
| Country | Japan |
| State(s) | Yamaguchi, Osaka |
Date apprehended | December 5, 2005 |
Biography
editYamaji was born into a poor family. His father died of cirrhosis in January 1995. After graduating from junior high school, he dropped out and began working at a newspaper store.
Matricide
editYamaji killed his 50-year-old mother with a metal baseball bat in Yamaguchi city, Yamaguchi Prefecture at age 16 on July 29, 2000.[2] He called the police and was arrested on July 31, 2000. He stated that his motives to commit matricide were his mother's silent telephone calls to the woman with whom he had fallen in love and his mother's mounting debt. He was paroled in October 2003.[2]
Double homicide
editOn November 17, 2005, Yamaji raped and murdered a 27-year-old woman named Asuka Uehara and her 19-year-old sister, Chihiro, with a knife, in Naniwa, Osaka. He then set fire to their apartment and fled.[3] The two victims had never met Yamaji before. He was arrested on December 5, 2005. While in custody, he stated to the Osaka police, "I could not forget the feeling when I killed my mother, and wanted to see human blood."[2]
Sentence
editOn December 13, 2006, the Osaka District Court sentenced him to death.[2] His defense launched an appeal, but according to his lawyers he retracted it since he was reluctant to pursue leniency.[4] He was executed at the Osaka Detention House alongside Japanese serial killer Hiroshi Maeue on July 28, 2009.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "「殺したときには射精していました」"快楽殺人犯"とされた山地悠紀夫が女性殺しに走った本当のワケ". 文春オンライン (in Japanese). January 5, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Man to hang for sisters' murders". The Japan Times Online. December 14, 2006. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ "The Osaka Sister Killer – Yukio Yamaji". Morbirdology. May 8, 2020.
- ^ "Double-killer lets death sentence stand". The Japan Times Online. June 2, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ "Japan executes three for multiple murders". AFP. July 27, 2009. Archived from the original on February 26, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
External links
edit- (in Japanese) 山地悠紀夫事件