In 1985, a promotional campaign by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company for Oronamin C health drink inadvertently created the setting for a series of murders. Free bottles of the drink left on vending machines were laced with paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide banned in many countries.
The first victim, a 45-year-old truck driver, died after consuming a free bottle in Fukuyama. Despite the initial investigation, the case went cold. Further poisonings occurred in Osaka and Mie, claiming the lives of several more victims, including a 52-year-old man and a 22-year-old college student.
Paraquat is a powerful herbicide with severe effects, causing internal chemical burns and death when ingested. Even skin contact leads to blisters and damage to blood vessels.
Police investigations initially proved fruitless, only finding more victims. The article focuses on the early stages of the tragedy without revealing details about the resolution.
It’s a dark irony that the story of Japan’s most cruel and psychopathic poisonings begins with a promotion campaign for a health drink.
In 1985, the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company was seeing a decline in sales of its health tonic drink known as Oronamin C. So they launched a campaign. When you buy a drink from a vending machine, a free bottle of Oronamin C rolls out too.
Many of those free bottles would remain in the slots or on top of the vending machines. It was typical for the Japanese culture to leave unwanted drinks behind for someone else to enjoy.
All this created the perfect conditions for one of the most sadistic crimes in history.
The first victim was a 45-year-old truck driver from Fukuyama, Hiroshima. On April 30th, 1985, he was purchasing a drink from a vending machine in the city when he spotted a bottle of Oronamin C on top. He took it.
Soon, he fell ill. He was showing symptoms of severe poisoning and internal chemical burns. The medical staff couldn’t do anything other than confirm what was the exact poison that was killing him.
Tests showed that it was paraquat, a chemical often used against weeds and banned in over 30 countries due to its adverse effects. Even if it only touches the surface of your skin it will cause blisters and rapidly sink deeper, burning blood vessel walls. If ingested, it burns holes through the throat and majorly inflames tissue around major blood vessels. And it’s lethal.
The Fukuyama man died on May 30th, 1985.
The police investigation led nowhere and the case went cold.
Then, in September, it happened again. And again.
A 52-year old man in Osaka drank a “free” beverage from a vending machine on September 11th and died three days later. A 22-year old college student in Mie took a free bottle and drank it home. He died two days later.
By the end of September, three more people were poisoned and died in Fukui, Miyazaka, and Osaka.
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