'Demon Killer' who tied SD card to cat pleads not guilty

An ex-IT bod accused of masquerading as hacker "Demon Killer" to infiltrate PCs and send out a string of murderous threats in 2012 has protested his innocence at the opening of his trial in Tokyo District Court.

Yusuke Katayama, who was an employee at an unnamed technology company, was finally nabbed in February 2013 after allegedly leading Japan’s tech-illiterate police force a merry dance.

He’s accused of using online forums including the popular 2channel to infect users with the remote control virus iesys.exe.

He then allegedly used these proxy machines to send out abusive messages, which included bomb threats against a school and kindergarten attended by the Emperor’s grandchildren and a warning of an impending killing spree on the streets of Osaka.

Katayama also allegedly threatened to blow up a Japan Airlines flight to New York – an incident which ended up costing JAL ¥9.75 million, according to Japan Times.

The accused caused much embarrassment for Japan’s National Police Agency.

Not only did they arrest and detain the owners of the hacked PCs, holding one for several weeks, before realising their mistake, but they were also led on a wild goose chase by “Demon Killer”.

This celebrated case involved police following a set of emailed riddles which finally led them to the island of Enoshima near Tokyo, where they found a cat.

Said feline had an SD card attached to its collar which contained a message claiming the culprit had been wronged by the police in the past.

Katayama was apparently arrested for posting online death threats back in 2005 and ended up serving 18 months in jail.

Tokyo prosecutors apparently claim they’ve evidence from Katayama’s PC linking him to the virus and say his smartphone contained key search terms such as “cat” and “Enoshima” from before the time when the incident went public.

There’s also said to be security footage showing him playing with the cat on Enoshima.

Prosecutors have as many as 637 pieces of circumstantial evidence, according to the report. ®