Born and raised in Japan, Sagawa took a degree in English literature from Wako University. A brilliant student, he was accepted to do post-graduate at the Sorbonne. In 1981, he killed and ate one of his fellow classmates, a beautiful woman named Renée Hartevelt. Once the murder was discovered, the judge declared Sagawa mentally deranged and unfit to stand trial. His wealthy father had him extradited to a Japanese psychiatric hospital, from which he was released after 15 months. Now a national celebrity, Sagawa spends his time doing talk show interviews, starring in movies, writing novels, and painting. He is happy to talk about his crime and remains completely unrepentant.