SAITAMA (TR) – A 32-year-old man from Saitama City on trial for the consensual murder of two women told a court on Monday that he had been driven by “murderous impulses” since he was a child, reports Nippon TV (Apr. 27).
Appearing at the Saitama District Court, Jun Saito admitted to the charges of killing two women in their 20s — one in 2015 and another three years later — after seeking out and contacting them through online suicide message boards.
“I have had murderous impulses since I was young. There were days when I couldn’t think of anything else,” Saito testified during questioning. “If the impulse went away by killing someone, I thought that would be fine.”
According to prosecutors, Saito killed his first victim in Yokohama in 2015. At the time, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police inexplicably ruled her death a suicide. The force recently apologized to the victim’s bereaved family, admitting that their initial investigation was “insufficient.”
Held a knife to her
Three years later, Saito murdered his second victim at his apartment in Omiya Ward.
During the hearing, Saito explained his chilling criteria for selecting victims. He recounted a past incident in which he cornered a random woman in an alleyway and held a knife to her. When she resisted and pleaded with him to stop, he let her go.
“I realized it was wrong to kill someone who was living for tomorrow,” Saito told the court. “I thought it would be better to contact people whose premise was that they already wanted to die.”
Saito displayed no remorse during the grim proceedings. When the prosecution asked if he felt any guilt, he remained unbothered, replying, “I cannot say I deeply regret it, because we both agreed to it.”
When pressed for his thoughts regarding the victims’ grieving families, he flatly stated, “I have no words to offer them.”
The prosecution is expected to deliver its closing arguments and a sentence recommendation at the next trial session on June 17.
