Hiroshi Maeue was born on August 8, 1968, in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

Hiroshi Maeue murdered three individuals in 2005. The victims were part of an online suicide club. He convinced them to meet under the pretense of committing suicide together. He suggested using a charcoal burner in a sealed car for carbon monoxide poisoning.

Once they met, he engaged them in conversation. However, instead of helping them end their lives, he would strangle them. The victims included a 14-year-old boy, a 25-year-old woman, and a 21-year-old man. Maeue later claimed that the act of murder gave him sexual pleasure and admitted that he developed this desire from reading mystery novels when he was a child.

During his trial, prosecutors labeled him as a "lust murderer." On March 28, 2007, the Osaka District Court sentenced him to death. Although his legal team appealed the sentence, Maeue accepted the court's decision. On July 5, 2007, he retracted his appeal and expressed a willingness to face the consequences of his actions.

Maeue was executed by hanging on July 28, 2009, in Osaka, alongside another serial killer.