Summary

In 1985, a series of murders in Japan were linked to free Oronamin C drinks tampered with deadly Paraquat poison and left near vending machines, leading to 12 deaths and a case that remains unsolved despite various theories and precautionary measures taken by the authorities and companies involved.

Abstract

The 'Vending Machine Killer' case in Japan began with the promotion of a health drink named Oronamin C, where free bottles were given out with purchases from vending machines. This act of generosity turned sinister when these free samples were poisoned with Paraquat, a toxic herbicide, leading to the death of 12 individuals who unsuspectingly consumed the drinks. Despite investigations, the perpetrator(s) were never identified. The random nature of the murders and the similar 'Monster with 21 faces' case overshadowed the investigation, leaving many questions unanswered, such as the murderer's motives, intended targets, and identity. The Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company and Japan Soft Drink Bottler’s Association took measures to prevent tampering and warn the public, but with the statute of limitations expired, the case remains a mystery.

Opinions

The act of leaving free drinks at vending machines, initially a kind gesture in Japanese culture, was tragically exploited by the murderer.
The murders may have been random, but the majority of victims were middle-aged men, leading to speculation that they were the primary targets.
The lack of eyewitnesses to the tampering and the randomness of the victims made it difficult for the police to identify any patterns or leads.
Some theories suggested the 'Monster with 21 faces' was involved, but this was considered unlikely since that group never caused any deaths and claimed to have ceased their criminal activities.
The speculation that the murderer might have been a female targeting men due to the marketing of Oronamin C towards males was disputed, as there was no certain way to ensure only men would consume the poisoned drinks.
Public paranoia was heightened by the case, leading to the removal of products from shelves and the introduction of warning labels on vending machines.
The case's notoriety was somewhat overshadowed by the 'Monster with 21 faces' case, which may have diverted police resources and attention.
Despite various speculations, the true identity and motives of the 'Vending Machine Killer' remain unknown, and the case is unlikely to be solved due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for poisoning in Japan.

SHORT READS

The Vending Machine Killer

The irony of how the act of kindness unknowingly aided in 12 murders in Japan.

In 1985, the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company was promoting a health drink, Oronamin C, to the public by automatically dispensing a free Oronamin C bottle whenever the public buys any of the drinks from a vending machine.

For context, vending machines are immensely popular in Japan. It has the most widespread vending machines across the country, so it is similar to getting a free product sample attached to the product that you are already buying.

The irony of how the act of kindness has somehow unknowingly aided 12 murders in Japan.

In Japan’s culture, at times, people would leave any unwanted drinks at the vending machine for anybody who does not have the means to buy one themselves and this had led to the string of ‘vending machine murders’.

The first murder happened on April 30th, when a 45-year-old truck driver bought a drink from a vending machine. It was just another regular vending machine like the many vending machines scattered in the country. He realized that there was a free Oronamin C bottle on top of the vending machine. Unknown to the dangers of it, he simply took the free Oronamin C along with his drink. The next night, he passed out and died from poisoning.

During the investigation, they found traces of Paraquat. Paraquat is a weed-killer that is so deadly that it has been banned by 32 countries in the world. It is capable of chemically burning your skin on contact. Ingesting it would only be much, much worse. It caused inflammation and burned all the way down the victim’s throat, surely sealing his fate.

Unfortunately, it was not a one-off situation as the murders continued. The next victim was a 52-year old man, a 22-year-old college student and 8 others.

All these victims intended to get or buy a drink from the vending machine and found a free drink on top, in or under the vending machine slot. None of them actually saw the free drink being dispensed. All of the victims were also male until the 12th and last murder, a 17- year old girl where it just, simply stopped.

The tragedy does not just end with the 12th murder. It gets worse with copycat crimes where poisoned milk cartons start appearing in elementary schools. Thankfully, nobody lost their lives.

The police investigation went cold as they did not find any new leads to find the murderer(s). This could be partially due to the randomness of these murders and the aftereffects of the ‘Monster with 21 faces’ which happened the year before and continued into 1985. This group targeted Japan’s food manufactures where they claimed that they laced candies with cyanide.

It sent the public into panic to the point Glico, the manufacturer of the product, had to pulled off its product from the shelves. With most of the public attention on this case, the vending machine murders received less publicity and thus, less attention from the police.

There were many speculations on these murders. Some thought that the ‘Monster with 21 faces’ had a hand in this string of murders but it was unlikely to be the case as ‘Monster with 21 faces’ never caused any deaths. The ‘Monster with 21 faces’ also left a note that said they would stopped extorting food-making companies and they were never heard from again.

Some said that the murderer was a female and the targets were males as Oronamin C was marketed towards men. However, this theory was disputed as there was not any way to accurately target men as females can also purchase these drinks as proven by the last murder. It could be possible that the victims were mostly men as female were more unlikely to eat free items. Of course, all of these are merely speculations with no hard evidence nor facts. Some speculated that the murders stopped as the murderer was caught for other actions or something has befallen upon the murderer.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company began redesigning their bottle to prevent tampering and the Japan Soft Drink Bottler’s Association printed 1.3 million warning labels and stuck them on the vending machines, warning people to be cautious.

But, the murderer was never caught.

Many of these questions remained unanswered.

What was the murderer’s intention or motive? It was unlikely for the murderer to get off from watching the pain of the victims as people usually take the drinks elsewhere.

Who was the murderer’s target? It seemed likely to be random with the murder’s weapon of choice but based on the list of victims, they were mostly middle-aged men.

Who was the murderer? Was it a female as speculated?

With the statute of limitation on poisoning in Japan set to 15 years, these questions will forever remain unanswered.

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