Japan 'Twitter killer' faces first murder charge

Takahiro Shiraishi has been charged with murder, the first of an expected series of charges for a man who has admitted killing and dimembering nine peopl in his Tokyo apartment.

Tokyo (AFP) - Japan's "Twitter killer", who is suspected of murdering and dismembering nine people he met on social media, was charged with his first count of homicide on Monday.

Takahiro Shiraishi, 27, is believed to have lured his mostly female victims -- aged between 15 and 26 -- to his apartment near Tokyo, where he killed them and cut up their bodies.