WEBVTT
1
00:00:01.399 --> 00:00:06.200
Every story has a beginning, but not everyone has an ending.
2
00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:10.359
In the shadows of headlines and buried police reports lay
3
00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:13.960
the voices of the missing, the murdered, and the forgotten,
4
00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:18.640
waiting to be heard and have their stories told. This
5
00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:22.079
is the Book of the Dead, a true crime podcast
6
00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:27.559
where we remember forgotten victims of heinous crimes, reopen cold cases,
7
00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:32.560
re visit haunting disappearances, and uncover the truths buried beneath
8
00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:37.600
the years of silence. I'm your host, Courtney Liso, and
9
00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:43.640
every week we turn to another chapter, one victim, one mystery,
10
00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:48.759
one step closer to justice. Brought to you by Darkast
11
00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:52.039
Network in Deep Podcasts with the twist.
12
00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:13.120
Pull up a Charon Citi spell.
13
00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:16.480
Here at Mount Murders Podcast, we're pouring straight from Pappy's
14
00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:19.280
jug and spending true crime tales from deep in the
15
00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:22.719
hollers of Appalachia to the bustling cities up and down
16
00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:23.560
the East Coast.
17
00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:26.640
It's hooting, it's hollering, it's murder with a side of
18
00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:30.599
the alternative. We dig into the dark history, the outlaws,
19
00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:33.840
the secrets, and the downright strange cases that'll make your
20
00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:34.920
hair stand on the end.
21
00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:35.400
Hollah.
22
00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:37.799
So, whether you're a city slicker or a ridge runner.
23
00:01:37.799 --> 00:01:40.640
Come join us by the firelight. Hit plate and let's
24
00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:43.640
raise a little ruckus mountain murder style.
25
00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:45.599
Yeah, let's get it boy.
26
00:01:46.920 --> 00:01:50.159
Hello, Hello, Welcome to the next chapter in the Book
27
00:01:50.200 --> 00:01:54.760
of the Dead. It has been a long time since
28
00:01:54.760 --> 00:01:57.879
I've covered a case in Japan, and I think part
29
00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:00.040
of that has to do with the fact that the
30
00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:03.359
two Japanese cases I covered in the early days of
31
00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:07.439
the Book of the Dead were among the most disturbing
32
00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:11.400
I've ever researched. The murder of Junko Faruda and the
33
00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:14.120
crimes of the Kobe Child's killer have stayed with me
34
00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:19.400
for years, and after those episodes, I found myself reluctant
35
00:02:19.479 --> 00:02:24.680
to return to Japan for another case. But recently I
36
00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:28.719
came across one I couldn't ignore. It's the story of
37
00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:31.719
a young woman who shared my birthday, though she was
38
00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:35.159
ten years older than me, and she dreamed of becoming
39
00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:39.639
a teacher, traveling the world and helping others. Those who
40
00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:44.159
knew her described her as warm, intelligent, and endlessly kind.
41
00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:49.159
That dream eventually brought her from England to Japan, for
42
00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:54.840
she began teaching English. Not long after arriving, she crossed
43
00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:57.639
paths with a man whose behaviors should have set off
44
00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:01.759
alarm bells. He was persistent, refusing to take no for
45
00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:05.240
an answer. He repeatedly tried to speak with her and
46
00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:08.560
even followed her home, asking her to give him private
47
00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:13.639
English lessons. Then one day, she never arrived at work.
48
00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:17.800
When she was reported missing, the search quickly focused on
49
00:03:17.879 --> 00:03:21.080
the man who had become so rapidly obsessed with her.
50
00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:24.919
What followed was a country wide manhunt involving one of
51
00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:29.520
Japan's most wanted fugitives, a man so desperate to avoid
52
00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:33.879
capture that he underwent plastic surgery to alter his appearance
53
00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:37.919
and spent years on the run. Her family would endure
54
00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:44.039
years of uncertainty before finally seeing justice. This is the
55
00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:48.960
murder of Lindsay Hawker. Lindsay Anne Hawker was born on
56
00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:52.479
December thirtieth, nineteen eighty four to Bill and Julie Hawker
57
00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:57.439
in Brandon, near Coventry, in Warwickshire, England. She had two sisters,
58
00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:01.800
Lisa and Louise, and the entire family was incredibly close.
59
00:04:02.919 --> 00:04:05.639
According to an article of her business life. Growing up,
60
00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:09.560
Lindsay was incredibly popular and well liked among her peers.
61
00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:12.240
And her teachers at King Henry the Eighths, which she
62
00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:17.480
attended in Coventry, and she used enthusiasm about everything in
63
00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:22.839
her life. She was also very intelligent and took school seriously,
64
00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:26.040
but she balanced her studies with making sure she took
65
00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:28.600
time to live her life fully, enjoying her time with
66
00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:32.360
friends and family. According to an article for the BBC,
67
00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:36.600
her head teacher George Fisher distinctly remembered the vibrant student.
68
00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:40.199
He said quote, I knew Lindsay well. She was a
69
00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:45.160
very popular student. After finishing her A levels and biology,
70
00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:49.120
history and Computing, she headed off to Leeds University, focusing
71
00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:53.439
on biology. During her time at university, she and her
72
00:04:53.480 --> 00:04:56.959
boyfriend Ryan Garside fell in love and by the time
73
00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:00.000
she finished school, they were looking forward to traveling the world,
74
00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:05.160
getting married and starting a family. Ryan told Business Live quote,
75
00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:09.800
she was the best thing in my life. Lindsay graduated
76
00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:13.160
from Leeds University with high honors, and though she planned
77
00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:16.240
on pursuing her master's degree, she looked forward to a
78
00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:20.120
chance to get some traveling done. Ever, the adventurous one,
79
00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:24.519
Lindsay couldn't wait to explore other places, and she combined
80
00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:27.720
her wanderlust with her desire to become a teacher, and
81
00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:29.920
she looked to Japan as a way to get the
82
00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:35.000
best of both worlds. She meticulously researched the country, making
83
00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:38.120
sure she was conscious of any possible risks, and found
84
00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:41.519
a roommate that was also looking to travel to Asia.
85
00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:44.879
In October two thousand and six, at twenty one, she
86
00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:47.360
said goodbye to her family and boarded a plane to
87
00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:50.480
Tokyo to start a position at the Nova Language School
88
00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:56.439
in Koiwa, teaching English. Upon arriving in Japan, she immediately
89
00:05:56.600 --> 00:06:00.279
began immersing herself in the culture, adapting to her new life,
90
00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:04.680
where she began to thrive. According to that article for
91
00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:07.800
Business Live, her new employers were impressed with Lindsay's work
92
00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:11.519
ethic quote she took her job very seriously and put
93
00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:15.800
every effort into her new role. As Lindsay got used
94
00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:18.160
to her new home, she kept in contact with her
95
00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:22.199
family and with Ryan, sending countless messages back and forth,
96
00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:24.680
and she was looking forward to Ryan coming to join
97
00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:28.680
her in Japan. The hustle and bustle of Tokyo, a
98
00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:32.399
city that never sleeps, is intimidating for anyone to try
99
00:06:32.439 --> 00:06:36.160
and navigate alone, especially a young woman freshly out of school,
100
00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:39.439
but Lindsay had done her research and was making do,
101
00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:43.879
enjoying her work and independence. Open and with an air
102
00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:47.079
of kindness about her, she was easily approachable and was
103
00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:52.040
making friends. Her father said, quote, my daughter loved this country.
104
00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:55.480
She loved meeting Japanese people, and thought of Japan as
105
00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:59.240
an honorable society built on trust and respect. When we
106
00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:01.560
visited her, she was proud to show us her life here,
107
00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.240
though so different from life back at home. Lisa and
108
00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:07.800
Louise said that Lindsay felt safer in Japan than she
109
00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:12.040
had back in Brandon. However, while Bill Hawker said that
110
00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:15.319
his daughter was willing to help anyone, that kindness and
111
00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:19.120
belief in the good and people came with risks. One
112
00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:21.920
such risk came about in March of two thousand and seven,
113
00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:25.040
when she was twenty two, seven months after she arrived
114
00:07:25.079 --> 00:07:29.240
in Japan. On either March twentieth or March twenty first,
115
00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:32.399
depending on the stores you read, Lindsay encountered a man
116
00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:35.600
in front of Nishi Funabashi's station, and he attempted to
117
00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:39.600
initiate a conversation with her. Whether they actually spoke there
118
00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:43.439
or not is not really known, but eventually Lindsay headed
119
00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:46.439
back home in her bike and the man followed after her.
120
00:07:47.720 --> 00:07:49.600
He followed her all the way to the apartment she
121
00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:52.879
shared with two of her coworkers. Then, because they were home,
122
00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:55.759
according to the Telegraph, she allowed the man into the
123
00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:57.759
home when he asked her for a glass of water.
124
00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:01.399
The man introduced himself as twenty eight year old to
125
00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:05.920
Tsuya Ichihashi, and according to the Telegraph, he discussed biology
126
00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:09.079
with Lindsay, her area of study at university, and he
127
00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:12.040
drew her a portrait and pen that he signed, adding
128
00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:16.120
his number and home address. After some time speaking with her,
129
00:08:16.279 --> 00:08:20.839
Lindsay agreed to give Ichihashi English lessons. Though she would
130
00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:24.480
tell Ryan about this encounter that would likely alarm most people,
131
00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:28.040
Lindsay seemed unperturbed and brush it off, writing in a
132
00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:31.120
Facebook message to her boyfriend quote, love you lots and
133
00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:33.960
don't worry about that guy who chased me home. It's
134
00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:39.559
just crazy Japan. Miss you kisses. On the surface, Ichihashi
135
00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:44.799
seemed relatively harmless, if a bit socially awkward. According to
136
00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:47.759
the Telegraph, he came from a very wealthy family. His
137
00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:50.399
father was a neurosurgeon and His mother was a dentist,
138
00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:53.240
and he grew up in Gifu Prefecture with his parents
139
00:08:53.320 --> 00:08:56.960
and his sister in central Japan. When he met Lindsay,
140
00:08:57.080 --> 00:09:00.000
Ichihashi was living as a neat which dances for nice
141
00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:04.200
in education, employment or training, and according to Japan Today,
142
00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:06.759
he was living off of a monthly one hundred thousand
143
00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:10.080
yen allowance provided by his parents, which allowed him to
144
00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:14.279
afford a three bedroom apartment at Yotoko Sunrise in Uchikawa.
145
00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:17.240
He had a very small group of friends, but they
146
00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:20.919
all had described him as a talented athlete, particularly in
147
00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:23.919
long distance running, and his neighbor said he was rather
148
00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:27.639
quiet and kept to himself. He had studied horticulture at
149
00:09:27.720 --> 00:09:31.440
Chiba University and had up until recently been dating a
150
00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:34.399
girl that he had been so enamored with that he
151
00:09:34.440 --> 00:09:38.440
wrote his graduation thesis about the landscaping at Disneyland based
152
00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:41.480
on her job there. According to his mentor in Naoki
153
00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:46.360
and Mariyoma, Ichihashi after the breakup expressed to Mariyoma that
154
00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:49.519
he wanted to support himself, but he thought that his
155
00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:54.799
former student was becoming psychologically unstable. According to the Telegraph,
156
00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:58.279
there had been at least one incident where Ichihashi had
157
00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:01.080
received a warning from police after he was reported for
158
00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:05.639
stalking a female student Atchibi University. She had stolen a
159
00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:09.399
ten thousand note from the coffee shop where the student worked.
160
00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:14.000
After exchanging a couple of emails, Lindsay agreed to meet
161
00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:17.399
with Ichihashi at a coffee shop in Ichikawa for a
162
00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:22.000
private English lesson on March twenty fifth. According to the Guardian,
163
00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:24.519
she arrived at the cafe in her novo work attire
164
00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:27.399
and a white coat at around nine am, and she
165
00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:30.200
could be seen at the counter key in dark clothing,
166
00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:34.200
appearing to order drinks after he paid. The lesson began
167
00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:40.000
and lasted approximately forty five minutes. Again, according to the
168
00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:43.919
reports you read, there are slight variations to what happens next,
169
00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:47.519
but the end result leaving the cafe is the same.
170
00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:53.080
Either Ichihashi convinced Lindsey to return to his apartment with him,
171
00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:55.240
as he had forgotten to bring enough money to pay
172
00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:58.000
her for the lesson, or he invited her to come
173
00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:00.960
see the garden he was creating on his balcony due
174
00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:05.960
to his interest in horticulture. Either way, Lindsay agrees and
175
00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:11.159
takes a taxi with him to Kyotoko Sunrise apartments. When
176
00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:14.279
she arrives, she tells the driver that she'd be right back.
177
00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:17.120
She was only popping in for a moment, as she
178
00:11:17.240 --> 00:11:19.720
was reportedly supposed to start work at ten point fifty,
179
00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:24.399
but after approximately seven minutes of waiting, the driver left.
180
00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:27.679
As the hours passed, Lindsay missed her shift at work,
181
00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:30.600
and her roommate grew worried as it got later and later,
182
00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:34.759
but she never came home, nor would she answer her phone.
183
00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:39.240
Lindsay's roommate called the police that evening, and the next day,
184
00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:41.879
when she failed to turn up for class again, the
185
00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:45.240
school reported her missing and called her father to inform
186
00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:47.320
him that they hadn't heard from her in two days,
187
00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:52.039
which was highly unusual. Two officers visited the apartment in
188
00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:55.200
Funabashi where she was staying, and they found the portrait
189
00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:58.919
Ichihashi had drawn and signed. Since he had written his
190
00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:01.559
address sound as well, the police headed to his apartment
191
00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:03.879
to speak with him, after her roommate let them know
192
00:12:03.960 --> 00:12:05.919
that she was going to give him an English lesson.
193
00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:10.200
As police arrived, the lights were off, but they could
194
00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:14.159
hear someone moving around. They called for backup, and seven
195
00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:18.200
other officers were dispatched, but as they arrived, they spotted
196
00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:21.440
Totsuya Ichibashi, who was clutching a bag and making a
197
00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:26.559
run for it barefoot. He managed to escape, disappearing from view,
198
00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:29.840
dropping the bag, which was full of clothing in the process.
199
00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:34.600
Now there are different reports as to how exactly he escaped.
200
00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:37.879
Some say that he jumps from his balcony to a
201
00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:40.679
neighboring one. Anothers say he ran down the stairs and
202
00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:43.679
jumped over the railing to get away, and others say
203
00:12:43.720 --> 00:12:46.320
he had simply managed to get out of the apartment's
204
00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:51.559
back exit before the area could be cordoned off. Either way,
205
00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:54.720
he managed to get out without the police catching him.
206
00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:59.000
Investigators entered the fourth floor apartment and found the place
207
00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:03.399
in disarray. A struggle had clearly occurred there, and it
208
00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:06.799
seemed as if someone had attempted to hastily clean things up,
209
00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:09.279
but they had done a poor job in doing so.
210
00:13:11.320 --> 00:13:14.679
Also discovered was that the bathtub had been removed from
211
00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:18.919
the restroom. Puzzled, they find it out on the balcony,
212
00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:22.879
but to their horror, it isn't empty. The tub is
213
00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:26.720
filled with sand and soil, and just visible was a
214
00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:32.799
left hand. Chief investigator Yoshihiro Sagita told the Guardian quote
215
00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:34.879
the bathtub was left out on the balcony and the
216
00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:38.679
body was left there in the bathtub. Furthermore, the corpse
217
00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:41.919
was covered in dirt as if to hide it. The
218
00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:44.679
nude body was that of a female in her twenties
219
00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:48.159
with long brown hair. She had suffered bruising to her face,
220
00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:51.279
but otherwise her cause of death was not immediately apparent.
221
00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:56.639
Inside the apartment was a handbag and Linday's identification, and
222
00:13:56.879 --> 00:14:01.159
also found were several mangas containing violent section imagery and
223
00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:03.840
a cart was later found that police belief was used
224
00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:06.799
to transport sand from the garden center into the apartment,
225
00:14:08.519 --> 00:14:12.120
and speaking with Ichihashi's neighbors, police learned that while he
226
00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:15.799
had been a relatively quiet neighbor, the night before the
227
00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:18.600
police arrived, they had heard a lot of banging and
228
00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:23.320
hammering coming from his apartment. This was determined to be
229
00:14:23.399 --> 00:14:26.440
the sound of Ichihashi ripping the bathtub from the wall
230
00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:30.080
and dragging it out into the balcony. While the body
231
00:14:30.120 --> 00:14:32.919
was identified by NOVA colleagues as twenty two year old
232
00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:36.759
Lindsay Hawker, a formal identification came the next day, when
233
00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:40.639
her father and boyfriend flew to Tokyo. An autopsy was
234
00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:43.480
conducted and it was determined that Lindsay had been bound,
235
00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:48.000
viciously beaten, sustaining a broken nose, and she had been raped.
236
00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:52.519
Her cause of death was determined to be manualisphyxiation. Her
237
00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:56.919
killer had strangled her with his bare hands. A warrant
238
00:14:56.919 --> 00:14:59.840
for Ichihashi's arrest was issued after he is charged with
239
00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:03.519
the abandoning a body, and a nationwide manhunt was conducted
240
00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:08.320
as police attempted to find him. Over one hundred officers
241
00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:12.080
were dispatched to canvas different areas, and though leeds had
242
00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:16.240
come in, they weren't having any luck in the first
243
00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:19.919
few days. According to The Guardian, a hostess bar that
244
00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:23.320
had Eastern European women on staff was raided after it
245
00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:27.159
was thought Ichihashi had frequented the establishment, as well as
246
00:15:27.159 --> 00:15:30.960
a home outside Yokohama whose owner had called mister Ichihashi
247
00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:36.120
several times. However, both raids were fruitless and police were
248
00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:40.039
no closer to finding their killer, much to the Hawker's dismay.
249
00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:44.080
Bill Hawker said in a statement urging for anyone with
250
00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:47.879
information to come forward, quote, my daughter's killer has now
251
00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:51.919
brought shame on your country. He must be caught. He
252
00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:55.159
cannot be allowed to hide away. I still respect this
253
00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:58.480
country and its people. I know that you placed great
254
00:15:58.519 --> 00:16:02.159
importance on family and community links. So as a father,
255
00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:05.759
I appeal to you. If anyone can help the police
256
00:16:05.799 --> 00:16:09.720
to find my daughter's killer, I beg you to come forward.
257
00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:14.399
After days without results, the CCTV footage of Lindsay and
258
00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:18.080
Ichihashi at the cafe was released and broadcasted throughout the
259
00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:20.840
country in the hopes that someone would come forward with
260
00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:25.240
more information. Bill Hawker, in the meantime, brought his daughter
261
00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:28.000
home to Brandon and a funeral service was held at
262
00:16:28.039 --> 00:16:33.279
Coventry Cathedral. Hundreds of people intended to pay their last respects,
263
00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:38.639
including Japanese ambassador Yoshiji Nagami. The Hawker family hoped that
264
00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:41.399
though the police were struggling to nail down a path
265
00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:45.200
to follow, that Lindsay's killer would soon be caught. As
266
00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:48.440
the weeks passed, the family was relentless and making sure
267
00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:53.000
that Lindsay's name stayed on people's minds. According to the BBC,
268
00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:55.840
they made appearances on the six o'clock news and they
269
00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:59.120
appeared on Japanese TV as well pleading for help in
270
00:16:59.159 --> 00:17:03.639
finding their daughters murderer. Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary at
271
00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:06.599
the time, as well as representatives from the Warwickshire Police,
272
00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:10.680
flew to Tokyo. Margaret urged the Japanese media to keep
273
00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:13.359
Lindsay's story in the news, and the police helped the
274
00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:18.079
family liaise with the investigators in Japan. As the investigation
275
00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:21.279
reached six months, the family came up with even more
276
00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:24.920
ways to try and get the public to help. In August,
277
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:28.400
they created an email campaign called Don't Forget Lindsay Hawker
278
00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:31.799
and circulated newsletters urging the reader to forward it to
279
00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:35.640
as many people as possible. This was at the height
280
00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:38.400
of chainmail messages, and they did what they could to
281
00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:41.920
capitalize on people's pension for forwarding emails to their entire
282
00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:46.519
contact list. Bill and Julia returned to TV, according to
283
00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:49.279
Business Lives, saying that they believed their daughter had been
284
00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:53.160
drugged prior to her murder, though based on everything I've read,
285
00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:56.720
this does not seem to be the case. Then, on
286
00:17:56.759 --> 00:18:01.079
September twenty fifth, the sixth month anniversary of Lindsay's Bill
287
00:18:01.160 --> 00:18:03.920
went to Heathrow Airport and hands it out pamphlets with
288
00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:08.359
Ijahashi's picture, asking travelers going to or coming back from
289
00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:12.799
Japan for help and finding him. Though they were persistent
290
00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:16.200
in their efforts, the police were still no closer to
291
00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:21.160
finding him. One year after Lindsay was killed, on March
292
00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:24.640
twenty fifth, two thousand and eight, the Hawker family returned
293
00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:26.880
to Japan to hold a vigil in honor of her,
294
00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:30.160
as well as hoping to spark renewed interests in the investigation.
295
00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:34.759
The police issued updated wanted posters to the public, this
296
00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:37.599
time showing what Ichahashi could look like with different hair,
297
00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:40.640
depicting him as a blonde, and even showing what he
298
00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:44.000
may look like dressed as a woman. According to an
299
00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:48.599
article for Ruders, four thousand posters and thirty thousand flyers
300
00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:51.519
with these new images were to be distributed to the public.
301
00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:56.160
After a year of searching, countless rumors and theories circulated
302
00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:59.680
through Japan. One such rumor was that he had escaped
303
00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:02.960
the country entirely and was attempting to evade police by
304
00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:07.240
living as a woman. Others thought he likely committed suicide,
305
00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:11.119
but Bill Hawker was adamant that Ichihashi was too cowardly
306
00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:15.119
to take his own life. He said, according to the Telegraph,
307
00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:18.839
that Lindsay's killer was an outcast. Quote, I believe this
308
00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:22.519
man was a loner, a social misfit who targeted my daughter.
309
00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:26.839
He must be caught. However, by October of that year,
310
00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:30.160
the Japanese police were sure that suicide was likely the
311
00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:34.519
route Ichihashi had taken. Though one hundred and forty officers
312
00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:37.759
from Treeba Prefecture as well as officers from Tokyo had
313
00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:41.839
devoted countless hours to the case, they were close to
314
00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:46.119
slowing their efforts down. A spokesperson for the police told
315
00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:50.599
the Telegraph, quote, Japan has so many mountains, and if
316
00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:53.039
he has gone into a remote woodland and died there,
317
00:19:53.319 --> 00:19:56.880
they might never find him. The Chiba police are continuing
318
00:19:56.880 --> 00:20:00.799
their investigation, but surely they will reduce it suit. The
319
00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:04.880
detectives in Tokyo have concluded that Ichihashi is dead. By
320
00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:09.160
two thousand and nine, the investigation, though still active, had stalled,
321
00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:13.400
though an interesting tip had allegedly come in that January.
322
00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:18.359
According to an article for Japan Today, allegedly a reporter
323
00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:22.200
for a news outlet called SPA had reportedly received information
324
00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:26.000
from a source in the Philippines who was supposedly a
325
00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:31.960
high ranking official in the government. Allegedly, the source said quote.
326
00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:35.440
Several months ago, I was informed that Ichihashi moved from
327
00:20:35.480 --> 00:20:40.319
Sebu to Manila while wanted. Posters bearing his ordinary photo
328
00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:43.240
had been circulated. He's been posing as a woman and
329
00:20:43.319 --> 00:20:47.000
changes his hideout every couple of days. We haven't been
330
00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:52.440
able to tract on his location. Reportedly, Ichihashi had managed
331
00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:56.680
to enter the Philippines with his own passport. Now. Allegedly,
332
00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:59.279
a man living in Manila had heard from a friend
333
00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:05.119
that they had seen someone matching Ichihashi's description. They apparently
334
00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:08.920
called the police in Kyotoku and reported that Ichihashi had
335
00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:12.000
entered the country, and they were told that the police
336
00:21:12.039 --> 00:21:17.960
would verify the information. If it proved accurate, investigators would
337
00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:21.720
be dispatched to find him. Now, to my knowledge, if
338
00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:24.200
a report was really made to the police, it did
339
00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:29.559
prove to be false. However, it was possible that Ichihashi
340
00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:33.559
could have left the country using his own identification, though
341
00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:36.319
it doesn't seem as if the police believes that he
342
00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:40.559
really had. According to a former member of the Tokyo
343
00:21:40.599 --> 00:21:46.079
Metropolitan Police, Ken Kidushiba, he told Japan Today quote until
344
00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:49.200
his suspect is made a target of a nationwide dragnet,
345
00:21:49.319 --> 00:21:53.200
it is entirely possible to depart the country without any checks.
346
00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:58.799
What's more, to initiate an international dragnet, first, the ICPO
347
00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:03.319
headquarters in France, which is the International Criminal Police Organization
348
00:22:03.720 --> 00:22:09.279
aka Interpol, must be informed in writing. It takes several
349
00:22:09.319 --> 00:22:12.880
days to get the information into computers and several weeks
350
00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:16.920
to determine what sort of warrant should be issued. Many
351
00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:19.680
criminals have been able to network with the underworld to
352
00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:24.640
flee abroad. Kidoshi would believe that if the rumor that
353
00:22:24.680 --> 00:22:28.240
Ichihashi was indeed in the Philippines was true, and if
354
00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:30.839
he really was living as a woman, it would be
355
00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:33.839
quite a while before he would be tracked down if
356
00:22:33.880 --> 00:22:37.319
at all. Quote, for a little over ten thousand and yen,
357
00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:40.279
he can buy a new identity, and if he undergoes
358
00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:44.240
plastic surgery, he might not get caught at all. By
359
00:22:44.359 --> 00:22:47.799
the two year anniversary, the Hawkers were vocal in their
360
00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:52.200
disappointment of police's failure to arrest Ichihashi, and had taken
361
00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:56.519
more trips to Japan looking for answers. In March of
362
00:22:56.559 --> 00:23:00.559
two thousand and nine, during another visit, Bill told reporters quote,
363
00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:04.480
this is my fifth time in Japan since Lindsay was murdered.
364
00:23:05.400 --> 00:23:07.880
How many more times as a family do we have
365
00:23:08.039 --> 00:23:11.200
to come back here? How many more pleas do we
366
00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:14.480
have to make? Until this evil man is caught. Though
367
00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:17.279
police kept assuring the Hawkers that they were getting closer
368
00:23:17.319 --> 00:23:20.519
to finding Ichihashi, and had even put up five life
369
00:23:20.519 --> 00:23:24.000
sized cardboard cutouts featuring a clip of his voice obtained
370
00:23:24.119 --> 00:23:28.640
from his computer in different train stations to hopefully garner
371
00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:35.319
help leads, the family was understandably angry. Julia Hawker, Lindsay's mother, said,
372
00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:39.519
according to the Guardian, quote, why did nine policemen who
373
00:23:39.559 --> 00:23:42.440
went to the apartment wait so long before going in?
374
00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:46.720
Why and how did they let a barefoot man escape?
375
00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:51.200
And why two years on have they still not caught him.
376
00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:56.160
The investigation seemed like it wasn't going anywhere by the
377
00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:59.160
fall of two thousand and nine, and though the reward
378
00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:02.519
for information sat at one million yen, no one had
379
00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:08.359
seemed to come forward with any useful information. Then, two
380
00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:12.799
and a half years after Lindsay's murder, the Japanese media
381
00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:18.799
started reporting that Tatsuya Ichihashi had undergone cosmetic surgery in
382
00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:23.839
order to continue to evade police. According to the Guardian,
383
00:24:24.279 --> 00:24:28.960
several un named police sources alleged that Ichihashi had visited
384
00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:34.720
multiple plastic surgery clinics to undergo various procedures using different names,
385
00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:38.079
but he failed to return to the clinics for post
386
00:24:38.119 --> 00:24:43.599
operative care, so investigators had been unable to apprehend him.
387
00:24:43.880 --> 00:24:47.279
At this major revelation, the hawkers, who had never been
388
00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:52.279
told this by the police, voiced their disappointment, quote, we
389
00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:56.079
would like to know who the surgeons were, Where did Ishihashi,
390
00:24:56.200 --> 00:25:00.200
the only suspect, obtain the money for the operation, and
391
00:25:00.279 --> 00:25:04.160
who was hiding him? Which hospitals and clinics carried out
392
00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:06.599
the work and why would they operate on a man
393
00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:12.240
who was allegedly the most wanted man in Japan. Of course,
394
00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:15.640
these were all very fair questions that the family deserved
395
00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:19.759
answers to. They knew that Ichihashi's parents weren't helping him.
396
00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:22.640
They had gone to the media themselves pleading for their
397
00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:25.759
son to turn himself in. So how was he managing
398
00:25:25.799 --> 00:25:29.640
to fund these procedures. While these allegations had yet to
399
00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:34.640
be confirmed by police, spokesmen for the Guietoka Police Takeshi
400
00:25:34.680 --> 00:25:39.880
Otani said that the investigators were working to verify the sightings. Quote.
401
00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:42.839
All we have at the moment are reports by several
402
00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:47.559
clinics that a man who resembles the suspect underwent surgical procedures.
403
00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:51.480
The media are saying it was definitely him, but we
404
00:25:51.720 --> 00:25:56.640
don't know that for sure. According to the Guardian, the
405
00:25:56.720 --> 00:26:00.240
Yumiyori newspaper reported that Ichihashi had visited a clinic Nick
406
00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:03.839
and Fukuoka in October for a consultation to have the
407
00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:08.880
shape of his mouth altered, but the clinician refused. Later
408
00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:12.319
that month, he allegedly had an operation done on his
409
00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:17.839
nose in Nagoya, and the clinic suspicious did call police
410
00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:22.480
and provided a picture, but as Ichihashi failed to return
411
00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:25.359
to have his stitches removed, the police were unable to
412
00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:30.039
confirm it was really him. According to that same source,
413
00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:33.880
pictures attained from the clinics showed that multiple surgeries had
414
00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:37.920
been performed to change his appearance, which included eyelid surgery,
415
00:26:38.359 --> 00:26:40.839
a procedure to reduce the size of his lower lip,
416
00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:45.559
and two facial moles had been removed. If the man
417
00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:49.279
in the photos was really Ichihashi, he had gained weight
418
00:26:49.400 --> 00:26:51.640
and grown a beard as well in the time he
419
00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:55.799
had been on the run. Then, on November tenth, two
420
00:26:55.799 --> 00:27:00.000
thousand and nine, two years and seven months after Life
421
00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:04.319
was murdered and just days after the reports of Ichihashi's
422
00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:08.279
cosmetic procedures being made public, the police received a phone
423
00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:11.759
call from someone in Osaka who had suspicions about someone
424
00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:15.160
they had just seen waiting to board the ferry. The
425
00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:18.279
person was tall five foot eleven and they were wearing
426
00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:22.599
a hat, sunglasses, and a surgical mask to obscure his face.
427
00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:27.839
Moments before the man was to set sail for Okinawa,
428
00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:31.839
an island in the far south of Japan, Totsuya Ichihashi
429
00:27:31.920 --> 00:27:36.640
was arrested for the murder of Lindsay Hawker. Upon his arrest,
430
00:27:36.759 --> 00:27:40.079
it became clear that the allegations of Ichihashi having plastic
431
00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:44.279
surgery were true. He looked very different than when he
432
00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:47.279
did at the time of Lindsay's death, and fingerprints were
433
00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:52.400
used to confirm his identity. It also became clear how
434
00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:55.759
he was able to afford these procedures without the monetary
435
00:27:55.799 --> 00:27:59.079
support from his parents. Ichihashi had been working for a
436
00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:03.039
construction company in Osaka for the last thirteen months, having
437
00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:06.720
finally quit in October after saving around one million yen.
438
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.880
He had been living under the identity of a man
439
00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:14.319
from Osaka named Kusuki Inue in order to avoid drawing
440
00:28:14.359 --> 00:28:17.480
attention to himself. He spent most of his time outside
441
00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:20.319
of work reading comics and watching videos in the room
442
00:28:20.359 --> 00:28:24.160
he was staying in provided by the company. According to
443
00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:28.319
The Guardian, his coworkers nicknamed him Lenki, did his height
444
00:28:28.920 --> 00:28:30.920
and noted that he never took off his hat or
445
00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:35.000
his glasses. While he had joined his coworkers for a
446
00:28:35.079 --> 00:28:37.680
night of bowling, he hid behind the group when they
447
00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:41.599
took pictures. They noted that he seemed a little odd,
448
00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:45.720
but they never suspected that he was wanted for murder.
449
00:28:47.160 --> 00:28:50.039
Police searched his dorm room, according to the Telegraph, and
450
00:28:50.119 --> 00:28:54.359
found multiple mirrors, an English language dictionary, and a partially
451
00:28:54.440 --> 00:28:58.400
filled out application for a new passport using his assumed name.
452
00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:02.559
Ichihashi was put on a bullet train back to Tokyo
453
00:29:02.599 --> 00:29:05.799
for questioning and the murder of Lindsay Hawker, but he
454
00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:10.920
was initially less than cooperative. While being held on a
455
00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:14.599
technicality the charge of abandoning a corpse, the police were
456
00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:19.279
trying to get Ichihashi to talk. However, unlike the United States,
457
00:29:19.319 --> 00:29:21.880
where those that are being questioned by police can only
458
00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:24.680
be held for twenty four to forty eight hours without
459
00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:28.480
being charged, Japan allows detainees to be held for up
460
00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:33.759
to twenty three days before being indicted. On December tewond,
461
00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:37.680
according to the BBC, Ichihashi was formally charged with abandonment
462
00:29:37.720 --> 00:29:42.680
of a corpse, and after countless hours of interrogation, he
463
00:29:42.920 --> 00:29:47.480
finally admitted that he killed Lindsay Hawker. He claimed to
464
00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:51.319
have rape Lindsay in his apartment and accidentally strangled her
465
00:29:51.400 --> 00:29:56.200
when he tried to muffle her screams. He stated that
466
00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:58.680
her death was an accident and that he had tried
467
00:29:58.720 --> 00:30:04.000
to resuscitate her. On December twenty, second to Tsoya, Ichihashi
468
00:30:04.359 --> 00:30:07.079
was charged with the rape and murder of Lindsay Hawker,
469
00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:09.160
and he was set to go to trial in the
470
00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:13.519
summer of twenty eleven. Then, to the shock of most
471
00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:18.079
of Japan and the Hawkers, in January of twenty eleven,
472
00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:22.519
according to an article for The Diplomat, Jintosha Publishing sent
473
00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:26.400
out a press release stating that they were publishing Ichihashi's
474
00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:30.960
memoir titled Until the Arrest, which followed his life from
475
00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:33.839
the moment he fled from police until the day of
476
00:30:33.880 --> 00:30:38.960
his arrest. His book didn't go into detail about his crime,
477
00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:44.319
but rather his journey to avoid apprehension, and he spoke
478
00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:47.599
about how he was conscious to avoid security cameras and
479
00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:51.319
never looked people in the eye. He spoke about originally
480
00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:54.799
living in a concrete bunker on a small island, eating
481
00:30:54.839 --> 00:30:58.880
wild fruit and fish, even sometimes snakes, and how he
482
00:30:58.920 --> 00:31:02.000
had removed the moles on his face with a pocketknife himself.
483
00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:05.440
In the introduction, he said the point of the book
484
00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:08.720
was quote one way of expressing my regret over the
485
00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:12.640
crimes I committed. I want any royalties from this account
486
00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:16.319
to be given as compensation for the family of the victim.
487
00:31:17.079 --> 00:31:19.559
While there were those that worried the book would negatively
488
00:31:19.640 --> 00:31:23.720
impact the trial, that thankfully didn't seem to be the case.
489
00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:28.759
In July twenty eleven, Totsuya Ichihashi went to trial for
490
00:31:28.839 --> 00:31:32.680
Lindsay's murder, and his defense team attempted to argue that
491
00:31:32.759 --> 00:31:36.200
her death was an accident caused during the rape and
492
00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:40.720
not a result of premeditation. The Hawker family was in
493
00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:46.640
attendance during the trial, and Ichihashi, an alleged showing of remorse,
494
00:31:46.839 --> 00:31:49.440
would bow to her family every day of the trial,
495
00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.240
but they averted their eyes. During his testimony, ichihas she
496
00:31:54.480 --> 00:32:00.200
cried as he admitted his crimes, quote, yes, I raped her. Yes,
497
00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:03.359
I agree that Lindsay died because of my actions, but
498
00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:06.880
I did not mean to kill her. Only Lindsay and
499
00:32:06.920 --> 00:32:09.640
I know what really happened that day. But she can
500
00:32:09.680 --> 00:32:12.680
no longer speak for herself because of me. It is
501
00:32:12.839 --> 00:32:16.440
my responsibility to tell the truth. Throughout this trial. As
502
00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:19.680
victim participants, the Hawkers were allowed to address the court
503
00:32:19.880 --> 00:32:23.400
as well as question the defendant during the trial, and
504
00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:27.200
during his testimony, Bill Hawker urged the court to show
505
00:32:27.279 --> 00:32:30.240
no mercy to his daughter's killer and give him the
506
00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:35.079
maximum punishment. According to the BBC, the maximum penalty for
507
00:32:35.279 --> 00:32:39.480
murder is death by hanging. However, this particular punishment is
508
00:32:39.599 --> 00:32:43.799
usually reserved for serial killers, so it was unlikely that
509
00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:47.960
this would be the penalty in this case. At the
510
00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:51.519
conclusion of the trial on July twenty first, Ichihashi was
511
00:32:51.519 --> 00:32:54.519
found guilty of the rape and murder of Lindsay Hawker51200:32:55.200 --> 00:32:59.559
after Judge Messiah Hoda rejected the defense's argument that Lindsay's51300:32:59.599 --> 00:33:03.000
death would an accident, citing the length of time force51400:33:03.000 --> 00:33:04.920
would have been needed to be applied in order to51500:33:04.960 --> 00:33:09.599
cause her death, so the prosecution pushed for capital punishment.51600:33:09.799 --> 00:33:14.680
Judge Messiahota sentenced him to life in prison. According to51700:33:14.720 --> 00:33:18.279
the BBC, this was decided because he had no previous51800:33:18.279 --> 00:33:21.799
criminal record and his age suggested there was a slim51900:33:21.880 --> 00:33:27.240
chance of rehabilitation. After the sentencing, the Hawkers were emotional52000:33:27.440 --> 00:33:32.599
but pleased that Lindsay had finally gotten justice. Bill said, quote,52100:33:32.720 --> 00:33:36.240
We've waited a long time for today. We've waited four52200:33:36.240 --> 00:33:38.400
and a half years to get justice for Lindsay, and52300:33:38.519 --> 00:33:43.000
we have achieved that. Today. We are very pleased. Lindsay52400:33:43.160 --> 00:33:46.519
loved Japan and you have not let her down. Thank you.52500:33:48.559 --> 00:33:52.680
Ichihashi did attempt to appeal the ruling and sentencing, insisting52600:33:52.759 --> 00:33:55.480
that he had not meant to kill Lindsay, but the52700:33:55.599 --> 00:33:58.640
judges of Tokyo High Court rejected the argument and the52800:33:58.759 --> 00:34:02.640
sentences in ruling would stay, and one of the judges52900:34:02.680 --> 00:34:05.359
also read a statement from Lindsay's family that said they53000:34:05.400 --> 00:34:08.960
believe that Ichihashi had shown no remorse for his crimes.53100:34:09.400 --> 00:34:14.000
And deserved the sentence he had been given. As of today, Hitchihashi,53200:34:14.320 --> 00:34:17.559
now in his forties, has served around fourteen years of53300:34:17.559 --> 00:34:22.079
his sentence at Nagano Prison, and according to japan Today,53400:34:22.280 --> 00:34:25.480
he is likely going to have to serve another sixteen53500:34:25.599 --> 00:34:28.639
or so before he's possibly going to be considered for parole.53600:34:29.920 --> 00:34:33.320
He's also allegedly doing rather well in prison. He has53700:34:33.360 --> 00:34:37.199
a job. His parents as of twenty twenty four visited53800:34:37.280 --> 00:34:40.599
him on a monthly basis and contributed money to his53900:34:40.639 --> 00:34:43.760
accounts so that he could purchase new clothes and food54000:34:43.960 --> 00:34:49.599
and other creature comforts in the commissary. So while he54100:34:49.639 --> 00:34:53.519
took a life and spent over two years on the run,54200:34:53.840 --> 00:35:00.000
it seems as if prison isn't so bad for his crimes.54300:35:00.079 --> 00:35:04.119
Talker traveled halfway around the world chasing a dream. She54400:35:04.239 --> 00:35:08.400
wanted to teach, to experience new cultures and to make54500:35:08.440 --> 00:35:12.159
a difference in the lives of others, and by all accounts,54600:35:12.440 --> 00:35:15.719
she was doing exactly that when her life was stolen54700:35:15.760 --> 00:35:19.880
from her. For more than two years, her family lived54800:35:19.880 --> 00:35:24.199
with uncertainty while her killer hid from justice, changing his54900:35:24.280 --> 00:35:28.760
appearance and hoping to disappear. But no matter how far55000:35:28.880 --> 00:35:34.440
he ran, he could never quite escape what he had done. Eventually,55100:35:34.519 --> 00:35:38.519
he was found, arrested and held accountable for taking the55200:35:38.559 --> 00:35:41.159
life of a young woman who had so much left55300:35:41.360 --> 00:35:46.159
to give. As always, I thank you so much for listening,55400:35:46.199 --> 00:35:50.719
and I hope you have a wonderful week and I55500:35:51.039 --> 00:35:54.119
will see you in the next chapter of the Book55600:35:54.119 --> 00:36:00.360
of the Dead. Bye, guys, Another page closed. But the55700:36:00.440 --> 00:36:04.760
story isn't over for the families left behind. The pain55800:36:04.880 --> 00:36:08.559
doesn't end when the headlines fade. And for the victims,55900:36:08.800 --> 00:36:13.000
we owe them more than silence for our on salvet cases.56000:36:13.599 --> 00:36:16.440
If you have any information, please reach out to local56100:36:16.480 --> 00:36:20.239
authorities or visit our show notes for links and resources.56200:36:20.880 --> 00:36:27.039
Someone out there knows something, Maybe it's you. Thank you56300:36:27.159 --> 00:36:29.800
for listening to the Book of the Dead. If this56400:36:29.880 --> 00:36:32.760
story moved or spoke to you in some way, talk56500:36:32.800 --> 00:36:39.280
about it, share it, Keep their names alive. Until next time.56600:36:39.480 --> 00:36:46.079
I'm Courtney Liso. Stay safe, stay curious, and stay vigilant,56700:36:46.440 --> 00:36:50.119
and remember the dead may be gone, but their stories56800:36:50.199 --> 00:36:51.559
will not be forgotten.56900:37:02.679 --> 00:37:02.719
In
