Kiyotaka Katsuta was born on August 29, 1948, in a farmhouse located in Kizugawa, Kyoto, in Occupied Japan. He grew up in a rural setting, surrounded by farmland and a tight-knit community. There is limited information about his early family life and childhood experiences.

As he grew older, Katsuta did not have a reputation for being a troubled youth. However, little is known about his schooling or social life. It is believed that he may have faced some challenges in his formative years. He later moved to become a firefighter, a job that many in his community respected.

Kiyotaka Katsuta committed several murders and robbed houses before he was caught. The precise number of his victims is unclear, but he used strangulation and shooting as methods to kill. On October 27, 1982, Katsuta hit a police officer with his car and stole a handgun. Just a few days later, on October 31, he attempted to rob a man but ended up killing him with the handgun during the incident. The following day, he shot another man, who fortunately survived. Because he was armed, he managed to avoid the police for some time. This series of events became known as Metropolitan Designated Case 113.

Katsuta was arrested on January 31, 1983, while threatening another man with a handgun. Initially, the police believed he only killed during robberies. However, after his arrest, Katsuta confessed to seven more murders. It is possible he may have been involved in as many as 22 murders, but he was charged with only eight. There were suspicions from the police that he might have raped some of his victims, but they could not confirm this.

His crimes shocked many in Japan, especially since he had been a firefighter and had appeared on television, even winning awards during his killing spree. In 1984, a film called Renzoku satsujinki: Reiketsu was made based on his actions, although the film changed his name to Kiyoshi Tatsuta.

While in prison, Katsuta was often mistrustful of other inmates. He met a Christian woman named Yūko Kurusu, and he was later adopted by her mother. Following this, he changed his name to Kiyotaka Fujiwara. On January 17, 1994, the Japanese Supreme Court upheld two death penalty convictions against him, making it a notable case in the court's history. One conviction was for seven murders committed between 1972 and 1980, and the other was for the handgun killing in 1982.

Katsuta was executed by hanging on November 30, 2000, at the Nagoya Detention House. Upon entering the execution chamber, he requested to remove his blindfold to see his chaplain one last time. After the chaplain recited a prayer, Katsuta spoke the names of his victims and apologized sincerely. He was then blindfolded again and taken to the gallows.