Lindsay Hawker

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24 March 2007

Lindsay Hawker murdered in Japan

Lindsay Hawker, a British teacher was badly beaten and killed in Japan.
Her body was found in flat in Ishikawa, east of Tokyo, on 24 March 2007.

Tatsuya Ichihashi was charged with her murder. He changed his face with plastic surgery.

Tatsuya was arrested on 9 November 2009. He had been on the run 2 years. He showed no remorse. He had stalked Lindsay for days. Eventually he managaed to lure her to give him English lessons in a cafe. He then took her in a taxi to his flat to pay her. He was obsessed with Western women. Lindsay's naked, battered body was found in a sand-filled bath on his balcony. Few days later after the killing Lindsay, the police approached him on the street. But he evaded nine police officers and has managed to remain at large ever since despite fleeing in bare feet and with no money. Tatsuya had severely beaten and strangled Lindsay, and her arms and legs were bound with plastic cord.

Lindsay 22 met Tatsuya 28 in Tokyo on the Saturday of 24 March 2007 in a cafe where he begged her to give him a lesson in English. He didn't have the money to pay her there. Therefore, she agreed to catch a taxi to Tatsuya's flat, 500 yards down the road. Lindsay told the taxi driver to wait for a short time and went up to Tatsuya's apartment. When she didn't return, the taxi driver left after ten minutes.

Lindsay's naked body was found buried in a sand and soil filled bathtub on the apartment's balcony. She had been bound and gagged with plastic ties and scarves, with one of her hands lying outside the mixture. Tatsuya was familiar with martial arts having attained a black belt, and it appeared, from the bruises that were present across Lindsay's upper body, that she had been the subject of a prolonged attack—her possessions were found strewn across the room as well. Police said that the egg-sized bruises on the left side of her face appeared to have been inflicted with a fist, while lesser marks on her upper body were the result of collision with furniture. Lindsay had died when her assailant began strangling her and broke her neck. Her head was shaved after she was killed. Lindsay's friend reported her missing two days later on 26 March 2007 at 2.30 pm. Tatsuya was arrested two years later on 9 November 2009.

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