The Dark Truth About The Black Widow Serial Killer

The reputation of the black widow spider precedes itself. Female black widows will kill the males of the species after mating (via LiveScience). When an insect finds itself trapped in the web of a black widow, the black widow has special feet that are like combs to wrap the victim in webbing. Then, the black widow will bite into their victim, injecting digestive enzymes, that will turn the victim into a drink that is edible for the spider. 

With this in mind, it's no wonder a woman from Japan got the name the "Black Widow Serial Killer" for the way she killed the men in her life. Chisako Kakehi won the nickname Black Widow and, oddly enough the way in which she killed her victims was not all that different from the way the female spider in question kills its mates. Kakehi's reign of terror lasted from 2007-2013 (via CNN). She was deemed responsible for the death of three men and an attempted murder of a fourth. 

She met her prey using a matchmaking service. 

By using the matchmaking service, she could zero in on her victims. She narrowed in on elderly men, who were wealthy and had no children (via Insider). After mating, the female black widow will kill her male mate with venom. Similarly, Kakehi killed her victims by using cyanide poison. She was sneaky in that all of her victims were elderly, meaning most people would have probably thought they were victims of old age. 

Though law enforcement has focused in on the 2007-2013 deaths, a grand total of 10 men that she has been associated with — including a husband — have died after being in her presence. For Kakehi, the four men represented an inheritance of $9 million altogether; an inheritance that she ultimately lost via the stock market. 

She was tried in 2017 and given the death penalty. She has appealed her death penalty, but to no avail.