On the afternoon of June 13, 1981, a Japanese man named Issei Sagawa walked to the Bois de Boulogne, a park on the outskirts of Paris, carrying two suitcases. The contents of those suitcases, to the lament of a nearby jogger, was the dismembered body of a fellow student – a Dutch woman named Renée Hartevelt, whom Sagawa had shot three days prior and had spent the days since eating various parts of her body. He was soon arrested. According to reports, Issei uttered, “I killed her to eat her flesh,” when they raided his home, whereupon they found bits of Renée still in his fridge. Sagawa was declared insane and unfit for trial and was institutionalized in Paris.
His incarceration was to be short, however, as the French public soon grew weary of their hard-earned francs going to support this evil woman-eater, and Issei was promptly deported. Herein followed a bizarre and seemingly too convenient set of legal loopholes and psychiatric reports that led doctors in Japan declaring Issei “sane, but evil.”
On August 12, 1986, Sagawa checked himself out of Tokyo’s Matsuzawa Psychiatric hospital, and has been a free man ever since. This is where the real story begins. VBS met up with him to find out what he’s been up to in the 30 years since.
Watch Part 1 here
More From This Show
-
Conrad Black
Conrad Black is a controversial former media baron who renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a British Lord, and later spent time in an American jail for fraud. We went to his sprawling estate
-
Sue Johanson
In part one of our three-part interview with Sue Johanson of 'Sunday Night Sex Show' fame, Kara Crabb chats with Sue about her origins as a nurse, being a pioneer of sexual education in a time when ab…
-
Sue Johanson - Teaser
Sue Johanson from Canada's 'Sunday Night Sex Show' sat down with our very own Kara Crabb for a long chat about menopause, how to put on a condom with your mouth, butt sex, vaginal sex, dicks, and ball…
-
David LaChapelle
Photographer David LaChapelle invites us into his LA studio and reminisces about his early days in New York, back when he used to work at Studio 54, hang out at the Mudd Club, and generally be a fabul…
-
Susan Miller
World-renowned astrologer Susan Miller hangs out with VICE's Thalia Mavros and invites us into her Astrology Zone (.com). If you watch it to the very end, she'll tell you exactly how and when you will…
-
Debbie Harry
VICE Music Editor Kelly McClure spends an afternoon with 70s punk icon Debbie Harry, who's still incredibly hot. During their hang out session at the Bowery Hotel, they talk about what it's like to be…
-
Rob Corddry (Again)
Last year, we got drunk with Rob and had such a good time, we wanted to hang out with him again. So VICE's Thobey Campion met up with the 'Children's Hospital' star at a record store where they talked…
-
André Saraiva
You may know André Saraiva as the man behind the club empire Le Baron, but in this episode of 'VICE Meets' we talk about how he got involved in graffiti and his installation at The Hole Gallery in New…
-
Karen Black
We were excited when Karen invited us to her home in LA for tea and a nice long chat about the art of acting, why she regrets starring in horror films, and her recent musical collaborations with Cass
-
Guy Tavares
Guy Tavares is a cult legend from The Hague who founded the legendary electro label Bunker Records. He also plays in the stoner-rock band Santa Cruz and runs the nightmarish club Dystopia. For this ep…
-
Facebook and Censorship's Slippery Slope
You're not in America when you're on Facebook—you're on the internet.
-
VICE News: Triple Hate
A documentary about Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Memphis City Council, the Klan, and the Crips.
-
Motherboard: Click, Print, Gun: The Inside Story of the 3D-Printed Gun Movement
Let us take you on a video tour of the 3D-printed gun world.
-
Fresh Off the Boat: Back in Taiwan
Eddie gets into face paint, screaming lessons, and furry pink pillows.
-
VICE News: BC Bud
Visiting grow ops and the RCMP to chat about weed and weed production.
-
Speaking with Adam Kokesh, Before He Was Detained by the Feds
The first in a series of controversies surrounding Adam's politics.
-
VICE on HBO Extended: Tobaccoland
Thomas Morton gets a full smoke-therapy treatment in Malang.
-
In Search of Tim Dog, the Rapper Turned Con Artist Who Probably Faked His Own Death
Why is there a warrant out for a dead man?
-
George's Fun Happy Place
George has a lot of problems to overcome, but he's capable of an incredible lightness.
-
Carlos Rafael and His Fish Are the American Dream
I spoke to him about cod and federal tax evasion.
-
Pen Pals: HardWhite and Harry Potter
Little white wizards get no play in county lockup.
-
This Week in Racism: Sergio Garcia Can't Wait to Serve Tiger Woods Fried Chicken
Golf is racist.
-
Facebook and Censorship's Slippery Slope
You're not in America when you're on Facebook—you're on the internet.
-
Director Alex Gibney on Hackers and Julian Assange
If Michael Moore is obsessed with outrage and Herzog is obsessed with dreams, Gibney is a master of moments.
-
MMA's Greatest Moment (and Ben Henderson's Worst) Makes Its Way into the Mainstream
As long as he lives, Ben Henderson will never be free of Anthony Pettis’ mind-scrambling kick.
-
George's Fun Happy Place
George has a lot of problems to overcome, but he's capable of an incredible lightness.
-
What Does Terrorism Mean in 2013?
It's a difficult word to define, according to Glenn Greenwald.
-
We Spoke to a Former Crack Addict About Rob Ford
"People don’t decide to have a glass of wine with dinner and then go buy a bag of crack."
-
VICE on HBO Extended: Tobaccoland
Thomas Morton gets a full smoke-therapy treatment in Malang.
-
In Search of Tim Dog, the Rapper Turned Con Artist Who Probably Faked His Own Death
Why is there a warrant out for a dead man?
-
Speaking with Adam Kokesh, Before He Was Detained by the Feds
The first in a series of controversies surrounding Adam's politics.
-
Pakistan's Election Went Off Without a Hitch... Sort Of
Transitioning governmental authority without the military is a victory.
-
Young Americans: Season Two Trailer
A documented survey of people from a wide array of ethnic communities.
-
The Loneliness of the Village at the End of the World
Niaqornat's residents fight alcoholism and suicide as their village sinks into the Arctic.
-
Hamilton's Pharmacopeia: Tanks for the Memories
What happens to the mind, body, and spirit while inside the tank.
-
Deportee Purgatory
About 40 percent of Mexican immigrants deported from the US are sent back through Tijuana.
-
Fringes: The Warrior State
Mexican civilians who are taking justice into their own hands.
-
VICE on HBO Extended: Strolling the Thames in China
VICE correspondent Ryan Duffy takes a stroll through Thames Town in Songjiang, China.
-
VICE News: Triple Hate
A documentary about Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Memphis City Council, the Klan, and the Crips.
-
Pump It Up
Photos by Anna Ryon, styling by Lola Chatterton.
-
Get Rich or High Trying
The smart money is increasingly looking to marijuana as the nation's biggest new business.
-
Murderous Fanatics and EDL Idiots Brought Darkness to Woolwich, London Yesterday
We tried to make sense of it all.
-
A Few Impressions: 'Leviathan,' I Love You
It holds up a mirror to nature, but this mirror came from a fun house.
Related Shows
-
Our favorite bits of our favorite country (USA).
-
Finding fashion's buried nuggets of greatness.
-
Swag, bitches!
-
No one is safe.
-
Watch Eddie Huang eat food and do cool shit.
Deportee Purgatory
Welcome to Tijuana’s El Bordo 
'Leviathan,' I Love You
James Franco at the Movies 
Juggalos Are OK, Cupid
Don’t Be a Tumblr Asshole 
Get Rich or High Trying
The Coming Age of Corporate Cannabis 
Triple Hate - Part 1
The KKK vs. the Crips vs. Memphis City Council 
Rave and Hardcore YouTube Comments
They Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity 
Comments