Haruka Sakurai, designated as Prisoner 001 in the MILGRAM psychological music project, committed a series of increasingly violent acts that culminated in the strangulation of a young child. His criminal history is not a sudden outburst but a calculated escalation driven by a pathological need for attention and a desperate attempt to overcome feelings of worthlessness caused by developmental delays and parental neglect. While his outward appearance is that of a timid, introverted youth, his internal world is defined by a chilling progression from insect cruelty to high-profile murder.

The Escalation of Violence and Early Animal Cruelty

Haruka’s path to murder began long before the events depicted in the MILGRAM facility. Suffering from developmental delays that made him feel inferior to his peers—specifically his inability to read kanji by age 15—Haruka sought a way to reclaim power in a world where he felt invisible.

His initial crimes focused on small animals, starting with insects and mice. For Haruka, these acts provided two distinct psychological rewards:

  1. A Sense of Superiority: By ending the lives of "lesser" beings, he could finally feel that there was someone lower than himself in the hierarchy of existence.
  2. A Connection to Reality: When he moved on to killing stray cats, dogs, and eventually neighbors' pets, he found that the grief of the owners was the first time he truly felt "connected" to the world. Seeing others cry because of his actions confirmed his existence and his ability to impact the environment.

These early behaviors are classic indicators of escalating violent tendencies, where the perpetrator seeks a larger "stage" to satisfy their psychological cravings.

The Fireworks Festival Incident: The First Murder

The defining crime of Haruka Sakurai occurred during a local fireworks festival. Haruka targeted a small child who had become separated from her parents in the crowd. The vulnerability of the victim was the primary factor; he chose someone even smaller and weaker than himself to ensure complete control.

The details of the crime are as follows:

  • The Act: Haruka lured or caught the child and killed her via strangulation.
  • The Location: The crime took place in a forest, an environment later depicted in his "Undercover" mugshot photo, which has been identified as Otowa Forest in Kyoto.
  • The Aftermath: After the murder, Haruka clumsily attempted to hide the body. In his internal monologue, he experienced a strange mix of regret and self-loathing, questioning why a child with a "brighter future" had to die while someone "useless" like him continued to live.

However, the "regret" Haruka felt was overshadowed by the thrill of the police intervention. When he was eventually detained and questioned, the intense focus the authorities placed on him—and the sight of his parents finally looking at him with emotion, even if it was horror—triggered a massive euphoric response, causing him to faint from the sheer excitement of being noticed.

The Relapse and the Debate of the Second Victim

One of the most controversial aspects of Haruka’s crime history occurs in the aftermath of his release from initial police custody. According to the narrative dossier and the visual cues in his second music video, All-Electric Brain, Haruka experienced a "relapse."

After crying for nights over the first child's death, he woke up to find himself strangling a second victim. There is significant debate within the MILGRAM community and analysis of the interrogation records regarding whether this second act was another real child or a symbolic representation of his own self-destructive urges. However, the official reports describe the act clinically, suggesting that Haruka’s violent tendencies had become a cycle he could no longer control. The second act solidified his status as a repeat offender, leading to his eventual incarceration in the MILGRAM prison.

The Pathological Need for Attention: Why Did He Do It?

To understand Haruka's crime, one must look at his upbringing. Born in 1997 in Nagaoka, Niigata, Haruka was a child who required special attention due to developmental disorders. His parents initially provided overprotective care, but as the gap between Haruka and his peers widened, their patience wore thin.

They eventually shifted from overprotection to total indifference, treating Haruka as if he did not exist. This "social death" was unbearable for Haruka. His crimes were not born out of malice toward his victims, but rather a desperate plea to be seen. In the MILGRAM facility, he often seeks out "maternal" figures or authority figures (like the warden Es or fellow prisoner Muu Kusunoki) to validate his existence, showing that his psychological growth remains stunted at the age when he was first neglected.

Symbolic Analysis of the Music Videos and Lyrics

The music videos (MVs) produced by the MILGRAM project provide visual evidence of Haruka's crimes and his mental state.

Weakness Formula (Yakuniku Formula)

In the first trial MV, the imagery is dominated by Haruka's passivity and his obsession with "worth." The lyrics reflect his belief that he is "foolish" and "slow," begging for someone to explain the world to him in a way he can understand. The visual of him digging his nails into his palms is a recurring motif of his anxiety and self-harming tendencies when faced with his own perceived inferiority.

All-Electric Brain (Zendeninou)

The second trial MV is significantly more aggressive. It showcases the shift in Haruka's personality after the audience voted him "Innocent" in the first trial. Emboldened by what he perceived as "forgiveness," his need for attention turned into a demand. The MV depicts the "relapse" and the suffocating nature of his dependency. It clarifies that his crime was an attempt to fill a void that no amount of attention could ever truly satisfy.

The Impact of the MILGRAM Trials and Haruka's Fate

The MILGRAM project allows the audience to act as the judge, and Haruka’s case was the first to be decided. The results were as follows:

  • Trial 1: Innocent: The audience largely sympathized with his tragic background and his apparent remorse. This verdict, however, proved disastrous, as it reinforced Haruka’s belief that his actions were acceptable as long as he was "loved."
  • Trial 2: Guilty: Following the revelation of his aggressive dependency and the potential second murder, the audience shifted their vote. Haruka could not handle the "betrayal" of being found guilty.

The outcome of the second trial led to a tragic conclusion. Unable to cope with the loss of attention and the judgment of the warden, Haruka entered a state of self-inflicted starvation. By the time the third trial phase began, Haruka Sakurai was confirmed deceased, making him the first prisoner to die within the MILGRAM system.

Summary of Haruka Sakurai’s Criminal Profile

Haruka Sakurai’s crime is a chilling example of how neglect and developmental struggles can manifest as extreme violence when a person’s existence is denied by their primary caregivers. His actions—the torture of animals and the strangulation of a child—were his only way of screaming for attention in a world that had turned its back on him. While he expressed regret, his physiological response to being caught proved that his need for validation was stronger than his moral compass.

FAQ

What was Haruka Sakurai's specific crime? Haruka committed animal cruelty (killing insects, mice, cats, and dogs) and murdered at least one young girl by strangulation at a fireworks festival. There is also evidence of a second strangulation incident following his initial release.

Why did Haruka kill a child? He killed to receive attention. Because he was neglected by his parents due to his developmental delays, he found that committing a "loud" and horrific crime was the only way to force people, including the police and his parents, to look at him.

Did Haruka Sakurai die in MILGRAM? Yes. After being found "Guilty" in the second trial, Haruka died of self-inflicted starvation. He is no longer an active participant in the trials.

What does "Mors Certa" mean on his sash? The Latin phrase on his prison sash, "Mors Certa," is part of the expression "Mors certa, hora incerta," which means "Death is certain, its hour is uncertain." This foreshadowed his early death in the series.

What was Haruka's mental age? While he was 17 years old at the time of his imprisonment, his mental age was considered much younger, closer to that of the child prisoner Amane, due to his developmental delays and emotional stunting.