'Black widow' arrested after the deaths of several partners

A 67-year-old millionaire dubbed the "black widow" has been arrested on suspicion of murder in Japan after several of her former partners died.

Chisako Kakehi, who has reportedly collected more than 800m yen (£4.3m) in life insurance payouts and inheritances, has denied the charges.

She was arrested after her latest husband Isao Kakehi died last December at the age of 75 at their home in Muko, Kyoto, a month after they married. An autopsy found lethal quantities of cyanide in his blood.

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Kakehi has been married four times and admits that several former partners have died within a few years of meeting her, but she denies any involvement in their deaths.

According to the Japan Times, all four of her husbands and two men she was dating have died, while Jiji Press suggests the total number of late partners is seven.

Husbands one, two and three died in 1994, 2006 and 2008, it says. One 75-year-old boyfriend suddenly fell ill and died after the pair ate out at a restaurant and, in 2009, another boyfriend reportedly died of an unknown form of cancer.

A third boyfriend collapsed while riding a motorbike and died in March 2012, says Jiji Press. Cyanide was also reportedly found in his blood.

According to TV Asahi, Kakehi told officers: "I didn't kill anyone. I don't even know how to kill. As to the cyanide, I don't know where it came from. I wish someone would tell me."

Nevertheless, Kakehi is already being called a "black widow", with reference to the female spider that kills and eats its partner after mating.

In April 2012, Kanae Kijima, a 39-year-old "black widow" killer was given the death penalty in Japan for the murders of three men she met through internet dating sites.

Kijima, who was found guilty of drugging the men with sleeping tablets and then burning charcoal briquettes to poison them with carbon monoxide, is awaiting the outcome of her appeal to the Supreme Court.