30 Facts About Issei Sagawa

Issei Sagawa known as Pang or the Kobe Cannibal, was a Japanese lust murderer, cannibal, and necrophiliac known for the killing of Renee Hartevelt in Paris in 1981.

Issei Sagawa murdered Hartevelt and then mutilated, cannibalized, and performed necrophilia on her corpse over several days.

In France, Sagawa was judged to be legally insane and ordered to be held indefinitely in a mental institution.

Issei Sagawa therefore had to be released from the hospital in 1986.

Since the criminal case in France had been closed and the court records were not made available to the Japanese authorities, Issei Sagawa was not again put on trial and spent the rest of his life in freedom.

Issei Sagawa was born on 26 April 1949 in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, to wealthy parents.

Issei Sagawa's father, Akira Issei Sagawa, was a businessman who had served as president of Kurita Water Industries, and his grandfather had been an editor for The Asahi Shimbun.

Issei Sagawa was born prematurely and, reportedly, was small enough that he could fit in the palm of his father's hand.

Issei Sagawa immediately developed enteritis, a disease of the small intestine.

Issei Sagawa eventually recovered after several injections of potassium and calcium in saline.

Issei Sagawa first experienced cannibalistic desires while in the first grade, after seeing a male's thigh.

Issei Sagawa attended Wako University and completed a master's degree in English Literature at Kwansei Gakuin University.

At the age of 24, while attending Wako University in Tokyo, Issei Sagawa followed a tall German woman home, and then broke into her apartment while she was sleeping.

Issei Sagawa's intention was to cannibalize her by slicing off part of her buttocks and sneaking away with a small part of her flesh, but she awoke and, according to Issei Sagawa, thwarted his attack and pushed him to the ground.

In 1977, at the age of 28, Issei Sagawa moved to France to pursue a Ph.

Issei Sagawa planned to kill and eat her, having selected her for her health and beauty, characteristics he felt he lacked.

Issei Sagawa considered himself weak, ugly, and small and claimed he wanted to absorb her energy.

Issei Sagawa said he fainted after the shock of shooting her but awoke with the realization that he had to carry out his plan.

Issei Sagawa consumed various parts of Hartevelt's body, eating most of her breasts, face, buttocks, feet, thighs, and neck, either raw or cooked, while saving other parts in his refrigerator.

Issei Sagawa took photographs of Hartevelt's body at each eating stage.

Once the remains of her body that he did not consume started decomposing, Issei Sagawa attempted to dump the remains of Hartevelt's corpse in a lake in the Bois de Boulogne park, carrying her dismembered body parts in two suitcases, but was caught in the act and arrested by French police four days later.

Issei Sagawa checked himself out of the hospital on 12 August 1986 and subsequently remained free until his death.

Between 1986 and 1997, Issei Sagawa was frequently invited to be a guest speaker and commentator.

In 1992, Issei Sagawa appeared in Hisayasu Sato's exploitation film Uwakizuma: Chijokuzeme as a sado-sexual voyeur.

Issei Sagawa wrote books about the murder he committed, as well as Shonen A, a book on the 1997 Kobe child murders.

Issei Sagawa was nearly accepted by a French language school because the manager was impressed by his courage in using his real name, but employees protested, and he was rejected.

In 2005, Issei Sagawa's parents died, and he was prevented from attending their funeral but repaid their creditors and moved into public housing.

In 2013, Issei Sagawa was hospitalized from a cerebral infarction, which permanently damaged his nervous system.

Issei Sagawa later lived alone and needed daily assistance, which was provided by his younger brother or by caregivers.

Issei Sagawa died from complications of pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo, on 24 November 2022, at the age of 73.