The Monster with 21 Faces: Japan's Poisoned-Candy Extortion That Was Never Solved

On the night of 18 March 1984, two masked gunmen took the president of Japan's Ezaki Glico from his bath in Nishinomiya. He escaped three days later. What followed lasted seventeen months: mocking letters to "the police fools", a man with eyes like a fox, sweets on shop shelves laced with cyanide and labelled with a warning, and a car chase on the Meishin Expressway that got away. Then the gang said they were done, and walked away. Nobody was ever charged, and now nobody can be. This is the Glico–Morinaga case: the crimes of the Monster with 21 Faces. Anything we call a theory is exactly that. The Crime Vault: cases the headlines forgot. ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold open 0:56 Ezaki Glico 1:35 The house in Nishinomiya 2:42 Sixty-five hours 3:35 Letters to the police fools 4:19 The Monster with 21 Faces 5:47 The Fox-Eyed Man 6:58 Danger. Contains poison. 8:22 The Meishin Expressway 10:06 August 1985 11:45 The theories 12:43 The clock runs out 14:26 Closing 💙 IF YOU'RE STRUGGLING This episode briefly mentions a death by suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, please contact a local crisis line: Lifeline Australia 13 11 14 · Samaritans 116 123 (UK & Ireland) · 988 (US) · or your local emergency number. 📚 SOURCES 1. UPI, "Kidnapped executive escapes" (21 Mar 1984): https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/03/21/Ki... 2. UPI, ransom and escape report (22 Mar 1984): https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/03/22/Po... 3. AP, "Blackmailers in Japan using poisoned candy" (8 Oct 1984): https://www.monsterwith21faces.com/episode... 4. Washington Post, "Spiked Candy Found in Japan Stores" (10 Oct 1984): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/pol... 5. UPI, Shiga police chief's death (7 Aug 1985): https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/08/07/He... 6. The Japan Times, "Clock ticking on Glico-Morinaga cases" (1999): https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/1999/02/... 7. The Japan Times, "NPA admits defeat in Glico-Morinaga case" (2000): https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2000/02/... 8. Kyodo, "16-year police probe of Glico-Morinaga case to end" (2000): https://www.thefreelibrary.com/16-year+pol... 9. Kobe Shimbun, 40th-anniversary feature (2024, Japanese): https://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/society/202... 10. Bunshun Online, on the recorded voices (2020, Japanese): https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/41067 11. Wikipedia, "Glico Morinaga case" (overview and timeline): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glico_Morina... 📚 Further reading (affiliate — may earn a commission at no extra cost to you): • Lady Joker Vol. 1 (novel) — Kaoru Takamura — https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1616957018/?t... 🤖 AI DISCLOSURE This video uses an AI-generated narrator voice (ElevenLabs). The script was researched and written from the published reporting and official statements listed above. Some images are illustrative, and eight still-life and scene shots are AI-generated (the typed letter, the sweets aisle, the labelled box, the riverside storehouse, the white flag by the tracks, the white cloth on the fence, the radio receiver and the CCTV-style store frame). None of them is real evidence or footage. No real letters, products, suspects or victims are shown. 📷 Photos via Wikimedia Commons (graded and cropped): 100yen (CC BY-SA 3.0); Aos.1905 (CC BY-SA 4.0); CT-May (CC0); Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan (CC BY 2.0); Douglas Paul Perkins (CC BY 3.0); Ebiebi2 (Public domain); Hahifuheho (CC0); Harcmac60 (CC BY-SA 3.0); Haruno Akiha (CC BY-SA 3.0); Japanexperterna (CC BY-SA 3.0); Jared Williams (CC BY-SA 3.0); Kentin (CC BY-SA 4.0); KishujiRapid (CC BY-SA 4.0); KitaTKO (CC BY-SA 4.0); Laitr Keiows (CC BY-SA 3.0); LERK (CC BY-SA 4.0); Martin Falbisoner (CC BY-SA 4.0); MASA (talk) (CC BY-SA 3.0); MichaelMaggs (CC BY-SA 3.0); MIKI Yoshihito from Sapporo City,Hokkaido., JAPAN (CC BY 2.0); Mimakin (CC BY-SA 4.0); Morinaga (Public domain); Mr.ちゅらさん (CC BY-SA 4.0); nattou (CC BY-SA 3.0); phosphor (CC BY-SA 3.0); PolizeiBerlin (CC BY-SA 4.0); Romain Guy (CC0); Romain Guy from San Francisco, USA (CC0); Schellack (CC BY-SA 3.0); Shizutetsukikanshi (CC BY-SA 3.0); Stevebidmead (CC0); Syced (CC0); Tokumeigakarinoaoshima (CC0); Tony Webster (CC BY 2.0); Unknown author (CC BY-SA 3.0); urawa from Japan (CC BY 2.0); User:Kentin (CC BY-SA 3.0); W-nexco (CC BY 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0); Yasu (CC BY-SA 3.0); Yasu (talk) (CC BY-SA 3.0); YOSHIFUMI OGISO (CC BY-SA 3.0); そらみみ (CC BY-SA 4.0). Full list with links in the pinned comment. #MonsterWith21Faces #GlicoMorinaga #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrime