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Transcript

JAPANESE PUZZLE: THE VENDING MACHINE MURDERS

By: Fernanda Orduno

personal impressions

A Spurt of Copycat Crimes

In 1985, the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company was seeing a decline in sales of its health tonic drink known as Oronamin C. So they launched a campaign. When you buy a drink from a

vending machine, a free

bottle of Oronamin C rolls

out too.

dark irony

Many of those free bottles would remain in the slots or on top of the vending machines. It was typical for the Japanese culture to leave unwanted drinks behind for someone else to enjoy.

OROAMIN C

The first victim was a 45-year-old truck driver from Fukuyama, Hiroshima. On April 30th, 1985, he was purchasing a drink from a vending machine in the city when he spotted a bottle of Oronamin C on top. He took it.

the poisonings

Soon, he fell ill. He was showing symptoms of severe poisoning and internal chemical burns. The medical staff couldn’t do anything other than confirm what was the exact poison that was killing him.

The Fukuyama man died on May 30th, 1985.

JAPAN VENDING MACHINES

CAUSE OF DEATH

paraquat

Tests showed that it was paraquat, a chemical often used against weeds and banned in over 30 countries due to its adverse effects. Even if it only touches the surface of your skin it will cause blisters and rapidly sink deeper, burning blood vessel walls. If ingested, it burns holes through the throat and majorly inflames tissue around major blood vessels.

And it’s lethal.

The police investigation led

nowhere and the case went cold.

Then, in September, it happened

again. And again.

A 52-year old man in Osaka drank a “free” beverage from a vending machine on September 11th and died three days later. A 22-year old college student in Mie took a free bottle and drank it home. He died two days later.

By the end of September, three more people were poisoned and died in Fukui, Miyazaka, and Osaka.

hello september

DRINKING OROAMIN C

last Kill

Four more people died in October. Two in November. All took free bottles — some on top of the vending machine, but most from the dispensing slot.

A 17-year old girl from Saitama who died on November 24th was the last victim. After that, the killings stopped as inexplicably as they had started.

FREE DRINK

Not even a theory

The police worked hard on this case but it was unsolvable.

All of the poisoned drinks were picked up from vending

machines in quiet

places. This meant

that there were no

witnesses who

could identify any

suspicious individuals.

There were no cameras.

There was no DNA either.

motive

And, above all, the motive for the murders — unlike in most murder cases — did not clarify things but only confused them further. The 12 victims were killed indiscriminately, in different locations, with no connection between them, completely at random. In fact, it looks like the randomness of the deaths was part of the appeal for the murderer: a twisted version of Russian roulette.

DIFFERENT LOCATIONS

The only thing connecting the victims was that all — but for the very last one — were male. However, if this was intentional, from here we can only go as far as assuming that the murderer specifically chose to poison drinks preferred by men or targeted vending machines in areas most frequented by men. It could be a small step forward in developing a theory but it’s the only step we can take.

target

There was no evidence. Not a single lead the police could latch on.

The case went cold.

And 20 years ago, it passed the statute of limitation.

The chances of seeking justice — or even only finding out why 12 people had to die horrible deaths — are zero.

chances

The randomness of the killings and the inability of the police thus far to catch those responsible has spread concern throughout the country. One by-product has been a spurt of copycat crimes. Twice in the last few weeks, for example, someone has left tainted containers of milk in schools in Mie Prefecture in central Japan.

Psychologists have begun to talk of a new breed of thrill-seeking criminal, known in Japanese as yukaihan. ''They cynically enjoy superiority by imagining the victims groaning, and do not feel any remorse,'' said Prof. Susumu Oda, a mental-health specialist at Tsukuba University northeast of Tokyo.

response

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

why this case?

The 'Vending Machine Killer' is a proposed serial killer, infamous in Japan for the Paraquat murders that took place in 1985. Period of killings: April 30, 1985 - November 17, 1985.

  • What if they didn't stop and are still at large just using a different strategy.
  • It's disturbing to know that this sick person/people can harm the innocent with no virtuous motive.
  • How did they get the paraquat (poison).
  • The killer is/was smart

What do i think happened

Mainly to have others be percatious.

Vending machines can be found everywhere, this drink could've fallen onto the hands of anyone, after all it was free

The victims were random, the

locations are random, and no one

knows who will be a victim. These

random killings differ from the norm. There's no connection between the

murder and the victims or even any connection between the victims themselves. Each takes place in a different city across Japan, with different lifestyles.The only common thing connecting these people is their bad luck. This person must have had a job that requires the person to travel a lot or perhaps it was a group of sick individuals who lived in the area and poisoned the drinks of safe/lonely areas. Just the intention of imaging their victim's

pain and being slick.

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