A Japanese man is facing the gallows after pleading guilty to the murder of nine people he lured to his apartment via Twitter.
Three years after his arrest, Takahiro Shiraishi told a Tokyo court that the charges against him were "all correct".
He will face the death penalty if convicted of murder, which means death by hanging in Japan.
But his lawyers are arguing that despite the fact Shiraishi killed nine people, he is not guilty of murder because they "consenting" to being killed.
Shiraishi opened a Twitter account in March 2017 to find suicidal women he could target.
He would then lure them back to his apartment by telling them he would help them die.
Eight women, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed by Shiraishi.
He also killed a 20-year-old man who confronted him about the whereabouts of his girlfriend.
Shiraishi's lawyers want the charges downgraded to "murder with consent", a legal defence argued by Hiroshi Maeue, who killed people in a similar fashion.
Maeue killed a 14-year-old boy, a 25-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man he all met online in 2005.
He was hanged in 2009.
"Murder with consent" is an actual crime in Japan, which bears a prison sentence of six months to seven years.
But Shiraishi disputes his own lawyers, arguing that his victims did not agree to be murdered.
"There were bruises on the back of the victims' heads," he said in a newspaper interview.
"It means there was no consent and I did it so that they wouldn't resist."
Police uncovered a shocking crime scene at Shiraishi's apartment in Zama, outside Tokyo.
They found body parts in coolers and 240 human bones.
*Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.
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