B$

tea-and-skeletons:

Issei Sagawa is not a true serial killer, as his victim count is only 1, but he is relevant when studying killers because his celebrity has been built up with so much positive attention that only Hannibal Lecter could possibly be more revered for his barbaric crimes against humanity.  The landscape of evil and pathetic public fawning is painted across the face of this small man from Japan. Sagawa, a graduate student studying in Paris in 1981, claims that he fell in love with his victim, Renee Hartevelt.  Hartevelt was a European student, studying to obtain her doctorate.  An attractive and talented young woman, no more than 25-years-old, she impressed Sagawa as quite a catch, much to her misfortune. Sagawa claimed an admiration for robust white women, but in interviews later, also revealed a sense of disgust for them. During one of the talks between Sagawa and Hartevelt in Sagawa’s apartment, he made a sexual advance which she refused.  Not to be so easily dismissed, he shot his love in the back of the head with a rifle.  A physical attack would have been nearly impossible, as the tiny man was not even five feet tall and had very little strength.  In fact, he had a history of trying to commit such an attack previously, when he was living in Japan, but failed miserably, and was sent to a psychiatrist who ruled him a danger to society. 

Sagawa had sex with the corpse, and began to eat her flesh—raw, which he later stated tasted like tuna sushi.  As his first foolish act as a bungling killer, he took photographs of his crime.  His next misguided act came when it was time to dispose of the body. Despite his education and privileged background, it would be a farce to say that he was clever.  After packing the body in several suitcases, Sagawa went by taxi to dispose of them.  After backing down from the chore several times, afraid of being seen, he finally tried dragging the cases to a public pond to dump them.  After he noticed several people watching him, he fled, leaving the cases, blood stains and visible body parts sticking out, and all. His taxi driver could identify Sagawa and where he had picked him up.  The obvious trail lead authorities to his door within two days.  Pieces of the victim were found in the refrigerator as undeniable proof, in case any of the officers had doubts. Unremorseful and blatantly honest, Sagawa claimed insanity, and in 1983 was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial. 

 Sagawa was sent to a mental hospital in Paris, but was transferred to a hospital in Japan after his rich father threw his weight into the matter.  In Japan, his father was allowed to decide when Sagawa was ready to leave the hospital, which he did, in 1985. Sagawa was now a celebrity.  He wrote a book while hospitalized called “In the Fog”, in which he romanticizes his cannibalism as a loving act, and human flesh as a divine food.  A pen-pal of Sagawa’s published a book of their correspondence, helping Issei sound like a romantic hero.  The idea of a film was approached. Sagawa has been interviewed and profiled in many Japanese magazines, both about cuisine and pornography.  He now fancies himself an artist, and remains a cult figure in his native country. 

(Source: ramirezdahmerbundy, via stickmenwithrayguns)