Japanese Woman Killed 6 Husbands: ‘Black Widow’ Suspected In Cyanide Poisoning Deaths


After a sixth spouse died, allegedly from cyanide poisoning, police arrested a Japanese woman who allegedly killed six of her husbands. Chisako Kakehi aka the “Black Widow,” was taken into custody Wednesday after her latest husband was found dead mere weeks after they wed. In each case, the woman is suspected in killing a half-dozen men to inherit money or claim insurance death benefits, according to the New York Post.

Thursday, police conducted separate raids on two of the woman’s homes: one in Osaka and another in Muko City in Kyoto, situated in western Japan. After medical examiners found traces of poison in the woman’s 75-year-old husband’s body, they searched the properties for evidence. There, they found and confiscated several capsules and wafers used to house powdery medicine. Additionally, officers found various books on drugs.

The woman was taken to the prosecutor’s office on suspicion of killing her husbands. The formal process is required before charges are filed in Japan. Reportedly, Kakehi was married at least six times over the last two decades, but only three were confirmed. Police say on each occasion, her lovers and husbands died within a few short years. In 2012, another spouse was found with cyanide in his system. However, his cause of death was originally attributed to a heart aliment, according to a police spokesperson.

“All four of her husbands, however, did not survive for long — dying within a few years of meeting her. While no one seems to have noticed the deadly pattern of deaths involving Chisako Kakehi’s first three husbands, the death of her latest husband, 75-year-old Iso Kakehi, just a month after their wedding, has set the alarm bells ringing.”

The Inquisitr previously reported of a similar case that gained national attention. Back in 2012, Kanae Kajima, another widow, was handed a death sentence for killing three of her ex-husbands. Reportedly, the motives, similar to Kakehi’s case, involved money.

All told, the Black Widow is said to have collected 800 million yen (the equivalent of nearly $7 million) from her dead husbands/lovers. However, even when faced with the damaging evidence against her, Kakehi denied any involvement with the suspicious murders of the six men. The 67-year-old suspect says she “doesn’t even know what cyanide is” and is totally innocent of the murder charges.

“I didn’t kill anyone. I don’t even know how to kill. As to the cyanide, I don’t know where it came from. I wish someone would tell me.”

So, allegedly a woman killed her husbands and no red flags went off until a sixth man connected to her died. Share your thoughts below about this developing story.

[Image via: Fox News]

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