MPD Psycho Causes Teenager to Murder His Own Mother?

On May 15th, a 17 years old boy from Aizu Wakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture killed and dismembered his own mother. According to police investigation, a manga was discovered in the boy's room that tells the story of "a detective with multiple personalities who solves strange murder cases."

According to reports, the manga in question began serialization in 1997, and was adapted into novels, movies and more. Although the series was popular, many considered it to be harmful due to its disturbing murder scenes.

Police also found chat logs on the boy's computer talking about the manga, asking questions such as "Is what's in that manga real?". The way the murder was carried out also bare similarities to scenes from the manga in question.

Although the media did not mention the title of the manga, all facts point to MPD Psycho, written by Eiji Otsuka and drawn by Sho-u Tajima. The manga has been serializing in Kadokawa Shoten's Shonen Ace since 1997, and has caused many debates due to its ultra-violent content.

Although details regarding the boy's mental state are not clear, and it is not known whether other outside factors played a role the murder, MPD Psycho may once again find itself in hot water.

Full coverage of the incident can be found on Wikipedia in Japanese.