Yukio Yamaji
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 |
Biography
Yamaji 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
Yamaji 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
On 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
On 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]
References
- "「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). 2021-01-05. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- "Man to hang for sisters' murders". The Japan Times Online. 14 December 2006. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- "The Osaka Sister Killer – Yukio Yamaji". Morbirdology. 8 May 2020.
- "Double-killer lets death sentence stand". The Japan Times Online. 2 June 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- "Japan executes three for multiple murders". AFP. 27 July 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
External links
- (in Japanese) 山地悠紀夫事件