A 67-year-old woman has been accused of poisoning her husband in what could be Japan's latest 'black widow' case.
Six of suspect Chisako Kakehi's other former partners have also died, it has been revealed. She has received a total of $6.8m in insurance payouts and other assets as a result of their deaths.
Kakehi was arrested Wednesday by police in Kyoto on suspicion of murdering her latest husband. She has denied any involvement in his death.
Her fourth husband, Isao Kakehi, died after falling sick in December last year - following just two months of marriage.
Cyanide compounds were found in his blood during an autopsy, News.net reports.
Isao Kakehi's death came just a few months after her 75-year-old boyfriend fell ill and died after the couple had eaten a meal together at a restaurant.
In 1994 Chisako Kakehi's first husband died aged 54, and her second husband died in 2006 from a stroke aged 69.
Her third marriage ended in 2008 when her 75-year-old partner died, it is reported.
A year later another partner, believed to be suffering from some form of cancer, died a year later while in 2012 her fiance died while collapsing while riding a motorbike.
Cyanide was found in his body, according to media reports.
She told reporters earlier this year: "If people suspect murder, I'd find it easier to bite my tongue off and die."
In a so-called 'black widow' - named after the female spider which eats its mate - case in 2012, a woman was sentenced to death for murdering three men she met through a dating website.
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