Kau Kobayashi

was a Japanese serial killer who, together with accomplice was responsible for murders of hotel owners Kamasuke and Ume Ikukata, called the After her arrest, she confessed to fatally poisoning her husband in 1952, and was later sentenced to death and executed for her crimes.

Early life Kobayashi was born on October 20, 1908, in Tamagoi, Saitama Prefecture (present-day Kumagaya), the second daughter of seven children born into an impoverished farmer couple's home.

Soon after her arrival in Shiobara, Kobayashi began familiarizing herself with the locals, and in the spring of 1956, she bought a small store in front of the Hotel Myogaya. Soon after, she began buying other stores and land in the area,

Following these confessions, the three were put on trial, and on July 14, 1966, Kobayashi and Onuki were sentenced to death by the Supreme Court after being found guilty of the murders. Nakamura, who asserted his innocence from the beginning of the case, was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

Execution On June 11, 1970, the 61-year-old Kau Kobayashi and her accomplice were hanged at the Tokyo Detention House. She was the first woman to be executed in Japan after World War II.