Robert Keller - Asian Monsters: 28 Terrifying Serial Killers from Asia and the Far East

On the afternoon of August 22, 1988, four-year-old Mari Konno left her home in Saitama, Japan, to play at a friend's house. When she had not yet returned by 6:30, her father went looking for her. Failing to locate his daughter, the panic-stricken man called the police to report her missing. A massive search was launched but to no avail. The child in fact lay dead in a forest 30 miles away, the first victim of Tsutomu Miyazaki, one of the most depraved serial killers in Japanese history.

Tsutomu Miyazaki was born in Itsukaichi, Tokyo, on August 21, 1962. He was a premature baby, entering the world at just over four pounds. He also had a birth defect. His hand joints were fused together, making it impossible for him to bend his wrists upwards.

Miyazaki grew to be a lonely child, shunned by his peers, mostly ignored by his parents and abhorred by his two younger sisters. Despite this he did well at school, at least at first. By the time he reached high school he'd lost interest in his studies and had retreated into a fantasy world, fueled by Manga comic books. He eventually graduated from Meidai Nakano High School, but the obviously intelligent boy finished only 40th in a class of 56.

After school Miyazaki attended junior college, graduating in 1983 with a qualification that enabled him to work as a photo technician. He found employment at a printing plant owned by a friend of his father.

Miyazaki was still living at home, but the only family member with whom he shared a close relationship was his grandfather Shokichi. The lack of familial interaction drove him to other pursuits. He was still obsessed with Manga and Anime, but now he also began collecting violent videos and pornographic magazines. By 1984 he'd given up on adult porn and had fixated entirely on child pornography.

The trigger that set Miyazaki on his murderous path occurred in May 1988 with the death of his only friend in the world, his grandfather. Psychologists who later examined Miyazaki believe that this marked the breaking of his final bond with society. He turned ever inward, to his comics and videos and pornography. Soon he would turn to murder.

The first child to fall victim to Miyazaki was Mari Konno. The little girl's disappearance caused massive public distress in Saitama, an area unused to violent crime. Police cars with loudspeakers patrolled the streets warning parents not to allow their children out of their sight. Meanwhile the police spent nearly 3,000 man-days interviewing people who lived near Mari's home. They distributed 50,000 missing person posters and brought in tracking dogs in the hope of picking up a scent. Nothing.

A couple of people did report seeing Mari in the company of an adult man and the descriptions they gave, about 5-foot-six with a pudgy face and wavy hair, were accurate, but the information led nowhere. When the police received a genuine clue a postcard sent to Mari's mother with the cryptic message There are devils about they dismissed it as a hoax.

Six weeks after Mari Konno's disappearance, Miyazaki was driving through Hanno, Saitama Prefecture when he spotted 7-year-old Masami Yoshizawa walking along a road. He coaxed her into his car, drove to the hills near Komine Pass and strangled her. Then he stripped the child and sexually abused her corpse, leaving the body just 100 yards from where Mari Konno's decomposing body lay.