The cannibal who ate a Dutch student (and then starred in adult films) just died

Issei Sagawa, a Japanese man who murdered and partially ate 24-year-old Dutch student Renée Hartevelt from Heemstede in 1981, has died in Tokyo at the age of 73.

Hartevelt and Sagawa met while studying at Sorbonne University in Paris, where, after inviting Hartevelt into his home, Sagawa killed her with a gunshot to the neck. 

Sagawa then went on to abuse his victim’s dead body and eat parts of her remains for a total of three days.

We’ll spare you the gory details (seriously, it’s haunting) but let’s just say it was tragic

Walking free

After Sagawa was caught trying to dump Hartevelt’s remains into a pond in the Bois de Boulogne, he was arrested by French police.

Here’s where it gets hectic: despite the arrest, a psychiatric evaluation in France deemed Sagawa unfit for prosecution — so justice was never served for Renée Hartevelt’s murder. 

Even worse, after spending some time in a psychiatric institution, Sagawa was deported back to Japan where Sagawa was declared mentally sane. (Excuse us?) 

READ MORE | 7 notorious Dutch criminals that will leave you shaking in your clogs

In the meantime, France had dropped charges against Sagawa. As a result, he was released in 1986 and walked free until the end of his life.

The ‘Kobe Cannibal’ in pop culture

Issei Sagawa was later on nicknamed the ‘Kobe Cannibal,’ after his place of birth in Kobe, Japan – because all good murderers need a catchy nickname, right?

When he returned to Japan, he didn’t make a secret of his crime but instead became a well-known pop-culture figure.

Not only did he appear on talk shows, but he even collaborated on a book and a documentary film detailing the murder and his obsession with cannibalism.

But things get even worse: according to the New York Post, Sagawa went as far as translating his fame to soft-core porn films, where he would “bite” his co-stars. Now, we’re not here to fetish shame — but we’ve gotta shake a disapproving digital finger at that. 

In addition, Sagawa’s gruesome deed was also the inspiration behind The Stranglers ‘La Folie’ and The Rolling Stones’ ‘Too much blood.’

Even after suffering a stroke that permanently damaged his nervous system in 2013, Sagawa continued to exploit and profit from his murder of Renée Hartevelt by giving various interviews reflecting on his actions.

Understandably, Renée Hartevelt’s family was not happy about the upsetting developments around the case and the attention that Sagawa received.

Dead at last

On November 24, 73-year–old Sagawa died of complications from pneumonia, his brother announced. His funeral was already held and attended only by his family. 

Shocked? Surprised? Tell us your thoughts on this cannibal adult movie star in the comments below.

Feature Image:Freepik
Lyna Meyrer 🇱🇺
Lyna Meyrer 🇱🇺
Say 'hoi' to Lyna, our Senior Writer at DutchReview! Fueled by a love for writing, social media, and all things Dutch, she joined the DR family in 2022. Since making the Netherlands her home in 2018, she has collected a BA in English Literature & Society (Hons.) and an RMA in Arts, Literature and Media (Hons.). Even though she grew up just a few hours away from the Netherlands, Lyna remains captivated by the guttural language, quirky culture, and questionable foods that make the Netherlands so wonderfully Dutch.

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