A former millionaire nicknamed the “Black Widow” over the untimely deaths of her lovers admitted poisoning her last partner at her trial this week in a multiple murder case that has gripped Japan.

Chisako Kakehi, 70, has become notorious over accusations she killed a number of elderly men she was involved with, drawing comparisons with the spider that kills its mate after copulation. Kakehi is on trial for the murders of three men – including a husband – and the attempted murder of another, all to allow her to collect on insurance policies. Prosecutors suspect she used cyanide to get rid of her lovers, amassing a reported ¥1bn (£6.9m) in payouts over 10 years.

Her trial began in late June, but this week she stunned the court by telling judges she had murdered another man in 2013. “I was waiting for the right timing as I wanted to kill him out of deep hatred,” the Asahi newspaper quoted her as saying on Monday. The Fuji television network quoted her saying the crime was just “an issue of money”. But on Wednesday, Kakehi appeared to retract her statements. “I don’t remember [what I said],” she testified, according to the Mainichi newspaper.(Theguardian)…[+]