Tatsuya Ichihashi Gets Life In Prison

市橋達也 リンゼイ・アン・ホーカー

Tatsuya Ichihashi was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of Lindsay Ann Hawker by Presiding Judge Masaya Hotta at the Chiba District Court yesterday.

Hawker's parents had asked for the maximum sentence of the death penalty.



On 24 March 2007, 32-year-old Tatsuya Ichihashi lured Ms. Hawker, a 22-year-old English language teacher from Coventry, UK, back to his apartment in Chiba near Tokyo after a pre-arranged English-language lesson in a nearby coffee shop. Ichihashi told Hawker he needed to go back to his apartment to get money to pay for the class.

Later Ms. Hawker's body was discovered by police in a sand and compost-filled bathtub on Ichihashi's balcony.

Ichihashi later escaped in his socks from the group of nine Japanese policemen sent to question him over Lindsay's disappearance.

Ichihashi, who was on the run fom the police for 2 years and 7 months, had plastic surgery in Nagoya and other Japanese cities, cosmetic surgery which included lip-thinning and cheek implants.

Ichihashi was finally picked up at Osaka port while awaiting a boat to Okinawa. After his arrest, Ichihashi published a controversial book detailing his life on the run and offered the proceeds of this book to Hawker's parents, who refused.

Presiding judge Hotta Masaya delivered the verdict on July 21 after discussions among the six lay judges, who are members of the public, and three professional judges.

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Tatsuya Ichihashi Trial Begins

市橋達也 リンゼイ・アン・ホーカー

The long, protracted Tatsuya Ichihashi case has finally reached trial at Chiba District Court near Tokyo at the beginning of this week. Long queues for the public gallery were in evidence as interest in this remarkable case has risen amongst the general public in Japan.

The parents and two sisters of the victim, Lindsay Ann Hawker, were in court to see Ichihashi plead guilty to Lindsay's rape and death but not her wilful murder. At the start of the trial Ichihashi bowed low to the victim's family and offered his apologies.



On 24 March 2007, Tatsuya Ichihashi (now 32 years old), a loner living in Chiba, near Tokyo, and supported by his affluent Gifu-resident parents, enticed Ms. Hawker, a 22-year-old English teacher from Coventry, UK, back to his flat after a pre-arranged English-language lesson in a nearby coffee shop.

Later Ms. Hawker's body was discovered in a sand and compost-filled bathtub on Ichihashi's balcony.

Ichihashi later escaped barefoot from the group of nine Japanese policemen sent to question him over Lindsay's disappearance.

Ichihashi, who was on the run fom the law for 2 years and 7 months, had extensive plastic surgery in Nagoya and other Japanese cities, cosmetic surgery which included lip-thinning and cheek implants.

While a renegade from justice, Ichihashi worked as a construction worker, installing home solar panels in Ibaraki, Osaka, for about 14 months and also spent time on a remote island in Okinawa. Japanese police believe Ichihashi may have been attempting to finally escape abroad before his capture, as he had documents for a pending passport application and an English-Japanese phrasebook in his company dormitory in Osaka.

Ichihashi or "Dai-chan" as he was known to co-workers left the company suddenly and attempted to flee as the net began to close. His former colleagues relate how he never removed his hat, always bathed alone and had an aversion to being photographed.

Ichihashi was finally picked up at Osaka port while awaiting a boat to Okinawa. After his arrest, Ichihashi published a controversial book detailing his life on the run.

Evidence presented in court on the first day of the trial included CCTV footage of Ichihashi and Hawker entering an elevator together and photographs of Lindsay's hair that Ichihashi may have cut as a trophy.

Presiding judge Hotta Masaya is expected to deliver a verdict on July 21 after discussions among the six lay judges, who are members of the public, and three professional judges.

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Ichihashi Tatsuya Publishes Book

市橋達也 リンゼイ・アン・ホーカー

On the eve of 32-year-old Tatsuya Ichihashi's trial for the rape and murder of English converstion teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker in Tokyo in 2007, the former fugitive has published a controversial book "Until I Was Arrested" (Taiho Sareru Made: Kuhaku no Ninen Nanakagetsu no Kiroku) about his two years and seven months on the run from the Japanese police.

The 240-page book has been criticized by Hawker's parents, who said they "wanted only justice" for their daughter and were "hurt" and "disgusted" by the book's release.

Ichihashi initially escaped barefoot from a group of nine police officers, who had gathered outside his apartment to question him. He then fled to the far north of Japan and also spent time in Okinawa as well as working for a construction company in Osaka to pay for his extensive plastic surgery.

Ichihashi details how he cut off a prominent mole on his cheek with a knife and wandered around more than 20 prefectures while fleeing capture, sometimes existing on a diet of fish and snakes while on the tiny and remote Ohajima in Okinawa. He also details how he visited the famous pilgrimage route in Shikoku hoping to "bring Lindsay back to life."

According to reports in the Japanese press, publisher Gentosha said Ichihashi penned the book "as part of an act of contrition for the crime," and intends to hand over any royalties to Hawker's family. The cover illustration and other drawings inside the book are the work of Ichihashi, who has admitted he bound his victim before assaulting her and then abandoning her body in a bath of sand on his apartment balcony.





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