Issei Sagawa – The Murder and Cannibalization of Renée Hartevelt
The morbid fascination with the inner workings of the minds of serial killers seems to be all the rage right now, but the documentaries that detail the lives of these people and their victims often overlook just how complex and oftentimes tragic the lives of these decidedly disturbed individuals were. In the case of Issei Sagawa, there was an entire range of circumstances that contributed to his disposition and the consequences thereof, so let’s have a look at exactly who he is and the events that led up to his crimes and his eventual capture by law enforcement authorities.
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Who Is Issei Sagawa?
While Issei Sagawa is somewhat of a notorious serial killer these days, he seems to have come from relatively humble beginnings. Issei Sagawa was born on April 26th, 1947, in the city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. His birth was premature and according to his father, he was small enough to fit into the palm of his hand.
As we now know, premature births can bring with them a whole host of physical abnormalities and developmental difficulties, but at the time it is reported that the only symptoms suffered by baby Issei Sagawa were enteritis, which affected his small intestine. This condition was treated with a series of injections and no other complications were noted.
Sagawa is said to have been something of a bookworm in his formative years, which complemented his introverted nature as noted by those who knew him. He followed this passion all the way through to his early 20s, as it’s noted that he studied for and eventually obtained a master’s degree in literature through both Wako University and Kwansei Gakuin University.
In his late 20s, Sagawa sought to further his education and obtain his doctorate in literature by attending Sorbonne in Parris. According to Sagawa himself, this is where he really began to act on his cannibalistic urges, even though the thought of eating human flesh had plagued him ever since he was in middle school.
According to Sagawa himself, the very first time he had an impulse to consume human flesh was when he was seven years old, and he saw a male thigh for the first time. The saga then later stated that during his time in Paris he would often hire sex workers in an attempt to shoot them and consume their flesh, but could never follow through for some reason.
Sagawa might have not indulged in cannibalism at a young age but he has said on record that he had engaged in bestiality with his pet dog and had fantasized about consuming the flesh of females. As you can see then, despite his charming and introverted demeanor, Sagawa was troubled for quite a long time before he was convicted and imprisoned for the first time.
His first instance of attempted cannibalism according to himself was when he was in Paris obtaining his doctorate when he followed a German woman home. In his own words, he intended to slice off pieces of her rear end, but she woke up and managed to pin him to the floor until the authorities arrived. Sagawa never revealed his true intentions and was charged with attempted rape before being released into the custody of his father.
The Family of Issei Sagawa
While Sagawa is now known globally as a Japanese cannibal, he came from quite a prestigious family. His father was (at the time) the president of a water treatment plant, and his grandfather was an established editor for one of the four largest newspapers in Japan, The Asahi Shimbun. His family’s wealth and reputation are much of the reason he was able to dodge the law for as long as he did.
In many instances, the revelation of a family member committing such a heinous act, and then said act becoming public knowledge would be perceived as immeasurable dishonor being brought upon the family name. However, as you’ll see, Sagawa’s father defended his son in court by making use of his incredible wealth and influence.
Considering the nature of the numerous crimes that Sagawa both attempted to and successfully committed, many have argued that his family enabled his behavior by not getting him the psychological help he needed. From a certain perspective, this allowed the Japanese cannibal to continue to escalate, inevitably leading up to the events which resulted in his arrest and the death of innocent women.
The Murder, Rape, and Cannibalization of Renée Hartevelt
As we mentioned previously, the lack of consequences for his behavior is what allowed Sagawa’s behavior to escalate to the point where someone was eventually killed. The story of this gruesome event begins on the 11th of June 1981 while Sagawa was studying literature at Sorbonne at the age of 32. The events of that evening would shape the lives of the people of Japan for years to come.
According to Sagawa himself, he invited a fellow classmate by the name of Renée Hartevelt back to his apartment under the pretense that he would be helping her translate some poetry for their upcoming classes. Instead, Sagawa later admitted that his only intentions were to kill Renée and eventually consume her flesh.
When questioned as to why he wished to end her life and consume her flesh Sagawa reportedly stated that it was much to do with jealousy. He saw Renée as not only beautiful but healthy as well. This was in stark contrast to Sagawa’s self-image, as he described himself as small, ugly, and weak in comparison to Renée. According to Sagawa, he wished to consume her in an effort to absorb her essence.
Murder
Upon entering his apartment Sagawa made sure Renée was at ease with her surroundings, eventually having her sit down and read some of the work that she believed they would be getting into that evening. Conveniently, she did so with her back facing Sagawa, which granted him the opportunity he needed to strike.
While Renée was reciting the poetry with her back towards him, Sagawa says that he shot her in the back of her neck with a gun, resulting in her death nearly instantaneously. According to Sagawa, he was not prepared for the experience, which caused him to pass out due to the shock of what he had just done.
Rape
Eventually, he regained consciousness and realized that he would have to follow through with what he had started. Sagawa had mentioned in his statement that he was attracted to Renée and it seemed that the attraction had not faded despite her death. Sagawa proceeded to have intercourse with Renée’s corpse at this point, a fact which shocked and repulsed interviewers.
This action would actually prove to be an important point later on in the investigation.
Sagawa stated that whilst having intercourse with Renée’s corpse he did attempt to bite off chunks of her flesh, but soon realized that despite his best efforts, his teeth were too blunt to penetrate her skin, at which point he gave up and sought another means of removing her flesh entirely.
Cannibalization
As we mentioned previously, Sagawa had learned that his teeth were not sharp enough to penetrate Renée’s skin, and as a result, he abruptly left his apartment with the intention of purchasing a butcher’s knife that he could use to remove parts of her skin and muscle. Once Sagawa obtained the knife he wanted, he returned to his apartment where he proceeded to mutilate Renée’s corpse.
Sagawa seemed to target areas of the body that were most pronounced, starting by carving off pieces of her breasts, buttocks, face, thighs, slivers of her feet, and even pieces of her neck that were not affected by the gunshot wound. Sagawa claims that he did not eat all of the flesh raw, instead opting to cook some portions, and even proceeding to freeze bits of flesh for later consumption.
The mutilation of Renée’s body continued as he cut off her clitoris and consumed it whole. He later stated that the reason for this was because at the time Renée was in the middle of her menstrual cycle, the smell of which perturbed Sagawa from consuming any other sections of her genitalia. This continued until Sagawa was satisfied with what he had done, and the subsequent consumption of Renée’s flesh.
Attempted Disposal
Sagawa’s fantasy was short-lived. Why? Well, as one would imagine the loss of blood and removal of considerably large parts of Renée’s body has exposed the muscle and dermis to the immediate atmosphere, which caused the wounds to fester and scab. This resulted in Renée’s corpse beginning to smell, at which point Sagawa attempted to get rid of it.
How did he plan to go about this? Well, before attempting to get rid of her body, Sagawa took photos of the corpse and the surrounding scenes to commemorate the occasion. He then began formulating an idea that if he was able to dismember Renée’s body into smaller pieces, he could cram her body parts into two suitcases and dispose of them effectively.
Sagawa proceeded to dismember Renée’s corpse and place different parts of her body in two suitcases. Once he was done, he took the suitcases out to a local park and attempted to dispose of her remains in a lake near Bois de Boulogne, where the remains sunk to the bottom only to later be discovered by authorities.
While Sagawa likely thought that he had completely gotten away with what he had done, eventually, around four days later, the French authorities eventually caught up with him, leading to his arrest and detainment. Renée’s body parts were eventually identified, and her family was informed of her untimely death at the hands of Sagawa.
The Arrest of Issei Sagawa
The arrest of Issei Sagawa came as a surprise to many considering that many at the time described his disposition as shy and introverted. Most people could not imagine that he of all people would be capable of such heinous acts, even though there were instances of Sagawa behaving highly inappropriately toward women.
Sagawa was arrested and imprisoned while he awaited trial. The length of his imprisonment lasted for around two years until his father made use of his immense wealth in order to have Issei released from prison after he was declared insane, at which point it was agreed that he would immediately be deported back to Japan. When Sagawa landed in Japan he was immediately transported to a mental institution.
As we mentioned previously, Sagawa had multiple psychological issues stemming from his formative years, and despite his violent premeditated crimes in France his final diagnosis was that of sexual deviancy, rather than sociopathic or psychopathic tendencies. Again, due to the influence of his father, following his diagnosis Sagawa was granted release from the said mental institution, from which he was allowed to check himself out.
These events led to a flurry of media attention in both France and Japan, which eventually led to the situation being dubbed the “Kobe cannibal case”. The media followed and dissected the string of events and the life of Sagawa leading up to this point, including the lives of his family and friends all of whom were thrust into the public eye thanks to his crimes.
Where Is Issei Sagawa Today?
While one might think that the public’s fascination with serial killers is a new thing, the fact of the matter is that people have been fascinated with the inner workings and lives of serial killers for a long time. In fact, after his release from the aforementioned mental institution, Sagawa was asked to appear on various radio and television shows throughout the late 1980s and 1990s.
He appeared in various exploitation films, most notably those written and directed by Hisayasu Sato, whose works were known to feature scenes of violence and sex throughout. Exploitation films are essentially works that look to take advantage of and/or capitalize on pop culture trends, often referred to as “B movies” as they often lack substance and contribute nothing toward the art form.
Hisayasu wasn’t the only one to exploit the narrative surrounding Sagawa for personal gain though. In fact, Sagawa himself is known to have written books about the murder and his life leading up to it. Not only did he write books detailing these events, but he also constantly accepted interviews by Japanese media to tell his story.
When the fame died out, it seemed that Sagawa sought to make use of his literary background to find employment. He tried his hand at reviewing various eateries for the Japanese restaurant Spa, but this was also short-lived as Sagawa found it more and more challenging to maintain employment following the exploitation of the Kobe cannibal case.
There was a documented case of Sagawa attempting to find employment at a rather prestigious French language school, but his application was later rejected when the students and staff discovered who he was. Apparently, the manager had initially been impressed by the fact that he had applied using his real name, which is what initially got him to consider Sagawa’s application.
Is Issei Sagawa Still Alive?
When most readers find out about the Kobe cannibal case, one of the most common questions asked is “is issei Sagawa still alive?”, to which the answer is no. Since his failed career in literature, Sagawa had little to no luck finding employment and found that he would not be able to subsist off of his inheritance either.
Sagawa’s parents passed away in 2005, and despite his best efforts, he was not permitted to attend the funeral. All of his inheritance was spent re-paying his parent’s creditors, after which Sagawa was left practically destitute and forced to move into public housing. In an interview with Vice News in 2011, Sagawa revealed that he had been forced to live on welfare.
Sagawa was reported to live almost entirely alone once he entered the public housing and welfare system. Later on, in 2013, Sagawa was eventually hospitalized and diagnosed with cerebral infarction, a disease that causes brain tissue to slowly die off, affecting numerous motor functions and mental faculties.
This led Sagawa to need constant medical attention, which resulted in numerous caretakers and his younger brother taking care of him in rotational shifts. At this point in time, Sagawa was unable to live independently and whether due to this or a sudden realization, admitted that he regretted what he described as an obsession with cannibalism and necrophilia.
Eventually, Sagawa passed away at a hospital in Tokyo after being admitted for pneumonia on November 24th, 2022, at which time he was 77 years old. Many who have studied and commented on the case of the Kobe cannibal case agree that it was absurd that Sagawa was not only released from prison but allowed back into the general public.
Now that you know who Issei Sagawa is, what exactly he did to earn such notoriety, and the events leading up to his eventual imprisonment, release, and death, it’s time for you to get out there and put your newfound knowledge to use. In most instances, mental illnesses are treatable and/or manageable, so if you or anyone you know could use some assistance, we recommend contacting your local counselor or mental health professional as soon as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is Issei Sagawa?
Issei Sagawa is a notorious serial killer and cannibal who is responsible for the murder of one Renée Hartevelt on June 11th, 1981. Sagawa cannibalized and sexually assaulted the victim’s corpse after attempting to dispose of her body in a lake.
Who is Renée Hartevelt?
Renée Hartevelt was a Dutch literary student studying in France in the year 1981. Renée was killed and cannibalized by one Issei Sagawa on June 11th of the same year. Her body was later discovered in pieces that had been stuffed into suitcases and dropped at the bottom of a lake.
How Did Issei Sagawa Get Away?
Sagawa was released from French custody after two years of imprisonment and declared legally insane before he was deported back to Japan. Due to his records being sealed by French authorities, he could not be convicted and imprisoned by Japanese authorities. He walked free and remained so until his death on the 24th of November 2022.
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