Trial of 'black widow' killer begins

The trial of Kanae Kijima, 37, the woman who is accused of murder following the suspicious deaths of three men in Saitama, Tokyo and Chiba in 2009, got under way on Tuesday.

The trial, which is taking place in Saitama, began with Kijima adamantly declaring her innocence. Observers say that both prosecution and defense counsel are strongly contesting each point.

Because there is no evidence that directly links Kijima to the murders, the prosecution has been focusing on details such as the suicide paraphernalia Kijima is believed to have purchased online and the money that her alleged victims transferred into her bank accounts.

According to NTV, one of Kijima's alleged victims, Yoshiyuki Oide, was found dead on the back seat of his rented car near Tokyo in 2009 in an apparent suicide. The car contained a charcoal burner of the type which had been used in a growing number of suicides in Japan. However, investigators were puzzled to find there were no keys in the ignition.

Suspicions were further aroused when it emerged that less than 24 hours before his death, Oide had written about Kijima on his blog, writing, "At 41, I'm actually looking forward to getting married, and today I'll meet my partner's family," NTV reported.

An autopsy showed that Oide had died from carbon monoxide poisoning, but that his blood also contained traces of sleeping pills. Just before his death he had transferred ¥5m to Kijima's bank account.

Kijima is accused of murdering Oide and as many as five other men she met via online marriage sites, by drugging them with sleeping pills and disguising their deaths as suicides or accidents.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, Kijima also worked as a home help for Kenzo Ando, an 80-year-old man who died in a house fire in May. An autopsy on his body revealed that it contained traces of sleeping drugs. Kijima had visited his home the same day and was captured by CCTV cameras withdrawing money using his cash card.

Kijima, a mother of five and nicknamed the "black widow", would reportedly agree to marriage and then claim to be in desperate need of cash to complete her studies before she could go through with the marriage.

According to one weekly magazine, in an email to a 70-year-old lover she claimed that her parents had been killed in a plane crash and that she needed money to complete her music studies in the US. The man was later found dead at his home.

Police say that Kijima, who claims to have worked as a nurse and a piano teacher, possessed multiple prescriptions for sleeping pills of the type found in her alleged victims. According to police, there is also evidence that she bought the items needed to cause carbon monoxide poisoning over the Internet.

Though she lived in an inexpensive rented apartment, Kijima was known to write about her extravagant lifestyle on her blog and was reportedly seen turning up to dates at luxury hotels in a red Mercedes.

Counsel for the defense is reportedly attempting to convince the jury that the deaths of Kijima's lovers could all have been accidents or suicides. The jury's services have been requested for an extended period as the trial is expected to last for up to 100 days. In total 63 witnesses are to be called, NTV reported.

© Japan Today