Paraquat murders

Paraquat killer
Born	Unknown
Wanted since	1985
Details
Victims	12 killed, 35 poisoned
Date	April 30–November 17, 1985
Country	Japan
Weapons	Paraquat and diquat

The paraquat murders were a series of indiscriminate poisonings carried out in Japan in 1985. Police were unable to gather any evidence about the murders other than they were caused by a poisoned beverage that was left inside or around vending machines. All the beverages were poisoned with the herbicide paraquat except for one which was poisoned with diquat, then placed in or near the vending machine, where the victim would consume the beverage.

Events

The first poisoning and death occurred on April 30, 1985, in Fukuyama, Hiroshima. This drink was found on top of the vending machine. Eleven more murders followed between September 11 and November 17. Most of these drinks were retrieved from outside the vending machine. Vending machine operators posted warnings on machines telling people not to consume drinks found in or around the machines, after which the poisonings stopped.

It was established that at least one other unknown person attempted to imitate the murders by putting lime sulfur into drinks in Tokyo. There were also a small number of people who attempted to poison themselves in a method imitating the murders.