Two victims, Ayaka Yamashita (山下 彩花, Yamashita Ayaka), aged 10, and Jun Hase (土師 淳, Hase Jun), aged 11, were murdered by a 14-year-old boy reportedly named Shinichiro Azuma (東 真一郎, Azuma Shin'ichirō),[1][2] under the alias Seito Sakakibara (酒鬼薔薇 聖斗, Sakakibara Seito).

Police commented that the style of Hase's killing and the note was reminiscent of that of the Zodiac murders in the San Francisco Bay Area during the late 1960s.

On June 6, a letter was sent to the newspaper Kobe Shinbun, in which Sakakibara claimed responsibility for the slaying and decapitation of Jun Hase, and threatened that more killings would follow.

Enclosed was a three-page, 1400-word letter, also written in red ink, which included a six-character name that can be pronounced as "Sakakibara Seito".

After the murders, Japanese politician Shizuka Kamei called for restricting objectionable content, stating, "Movies lacking any literary or educational merit made for just showing cruel scenes...

[8] Critics have charged that since the government had taken the unusual step of notifying the public, that Sakakibara was likely not fit for release and should be transferred to prison.

Due to the seriousness of the crimes and the fact that they had been committed by a minor, his name and new residence to this day remain a highly guarded secret.

[9] In June 2015, Sakakibara, then aged 32, released an autobiography through Ohta Publishing titled Zekka (絶歌), in which he claimed to express regret for his crimes and recounted the murders in graphic detail.

[10] Despite attempts by Jun Hase's family to block the release of Zekka, and despite one bookstore chain refusing to stock the book, it quickly reached the top of Japanese bestseller lists.

[11] A few months later, Sakakibara set up a vanity website in which he posted bizarre photoshopped images of a nude male, suggested to be himself.

[12][13] In response to these controversies, the tabloid Shūkan Post publicized Sakakibara's real name of Shinichiro Azuma, as well as his location and occupation at the time.