Ichihashi CAPTURED!!!!

[Ganma]

Lindsay Hawker's family rebuff alleged killer's letter

The family of a British teacher found buried in a sand-filled bath in Japan has said there is no point in her alleged killer contacting them.

Their statement follows reports that Tatsuya Ichihashi, who is accused of killing Lindsay Ann Hawker, has written to them apologising for her death.

The 22-year-old, from Brandon, near Coventry, was found at his Tokyo flat in March 2007.

Her family said they are confident in the Japanese justice system.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Sorry to be late with this, but just noticed a copy of the Ichihashi letter on Japanal Probe.
Ichihashi addressed the letter to Lindsay Hawker...Hello, dude, you killed her, why send her a letter after you did her over and then ran away for years?

His sentence should be doubled for being so callous. Of course, it will be halved for "showing remorse," only doing in a gaijin woman and reaping the benefits of mum and dad's pricey legal leeches.

[IkemenTommy]

Sorry to be late with this, but just noticed a copy of the Ichihashi letter on Japanal Probe.
Ichihashi addressed the letter to Lindsay Hawker...Hello, dude, you killed her, why send her a letter after you did her over and then ran away for years?

His sentence should be doubled for being so callous. Of course, it will be halved for "showing remorse," only doing in a gaijin woman and reaping the benefits of mum and dad's pricey legal leeches.

He'll get his justice serving ass-whipping once he gets out.

[Ganma]

He'll get his justice serving ass-whipping once he gets out.

Linched by FGs?

[FG Lurker]

Linched by FGs?

By someone hired to "take care" of things I would suspect. It's what I would do if someone did that to my daughter.

[IparryU]

By someone hired to "take care" of things I would suspect. It's what I would do if someone did that to my daughter.

give me a nice pay check, tools, and I'll take the job.

sucks that some looser from roppongi or shinjuku will get the job before i do

[iHUMAN]

Captured on 10 November 2009 and initially charged with abandoning a body and served two more warrants for the rape and murder of Lindsay Hawker, what kind of sentencing do you think this guy is gonna end up with?

[let`s talk]

Captured on 10 November 2009 and initially charged with abandoning a body and served two more warrants for the rape and murder of Lindsay Hawker, what kind of sentencing do you think this guy is gonna end up with?

He is not charged with murder which can carry the death penalty in Japan. He is charged with rape, unlawfully disposing of a body and causing injury resulting in death- from 3 to 20 years old.
The first court will give him between 10-15 years. Then, the most difficult work for mass media, mostly foreign, will start. If they succeed, the second court will give a life sentence for a murder. Surely no death penalty, he killed only one person and has no previous criminal records. If they lose, he will stay with 10-15 and will be out in 8-10 years. Or he will be killed in prison by a jealous lover.

[Coligny]

give me a nice pay check, tools, and I'll take the job.

sucks that some looser from roppongi or shinjuku will get the job before i do

That's how we can see you're an amateur...

asking to be paid for this kind of job.





oh... and the whole 'talking aboot it in an internet forum' thing...

[Mulboyne]

[Pearse]

I hadn't realized she had been alive so long after arriving at his apartment. It makes think Ichihashi is more of a sick, evil bastard.

[Adhesive]

[Mulboyne]

Guess Japan doesn't have any type of Felony Murder rule?

That's a common law practice and Japan is a civil law country. England no longer has it (Scotland never had it) but a charge of murder can be levelled in the UK if you intended to cause serious harm which then led to death.

[tidbits]

[Ganma]

Send him in to pour water on the plutonium rods in Fukushima.

[Mulboyne]

Report here says Ichihashi will appear at a public hearing on the 4th July. I'm not sure if that's a preliminary or the start of a full-blown trial but it's a later date than expected owing to delays brought on by the earthquake.

[legion]

Send him in to pour water on the plutonium rods in Fukushima.

plus one

[Mulboyne]

The family have arrived in Japan for Ichihashi's first court appearance. The father, William, said they have come to see justice and thought it would be best not to say anything further ahead of the trial. Under the system allowing victims to be heard, they may be participating in proceedings. The hearing begins at the Chiba District Court on the 4th July.

Source (Japanese)

[Mike Oxlong]

According to Tokyo Reporter on Twitter, Ichihashi admitted to rape and abandoning a corpse, but denied intention to kill in this first day of trial.

[let`s talk]

How many will he get? 10? 15? My guess is under or around 10.

[Samurai_Jerk]

How many will he get? 10? 15? My guess is under or around 10.

I think that if he had been arrested right off the bat and been apologetic he would've spent less than 5 years behind bars. However, I'm not sure how the Japanese courts will treat him since he was on the lam for so long. Anyone know how that tends to affect a criminal case in Japan?

[Mulboyne]

I think that if he had been arrested right off the bat and been apologetic he would've spent less than 5 years behind bars. However, I'm not sure how the Japanese courts will treat him since he was on the lam for so long. Anyone know how that tends to affect a criminal case in Japan?

Difficult to say since there are aren't many cases to make a good comparison. Kazuko Fukuda was on the lam for 15 years, also underwent cosmetic surgery, and got life imprisonment in 1999. She took her appeal to the Supreme Court which dragged on for another four years. It was dismissed and she died in 2005.

She stole ten million yen from her victim, however, and that always ups the ante in a murder case.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Difficult to say since there are aren't many cases to make a good comparison. Kazuko Fukuda was on the lam for 15 years, also underwent cosmetic surgery, and got life imprisonment in 1999. She took her appeal to the Supreme Court which dragged on for another four years. It was dismissed and she died in 2005.

She stole ten million yen from her victim, however, and that always ups the ante in a murder case.

If he's convicted of murder, I'm sure he'll spend a long time in jail. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he's convicted of lesser charge.

The idea that someone could actually claim that killing someone that they were in the process of raping and strangling was an accident akin to manslaughter makes me sick.

[Mock Cockpit]

Interesting to see what evidence of planning the prosecution can produce. Where and when did he get the sand for the bathtub for example? Any weapons, ropes, duct tape etc used in the crime bought recently?

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Sorry to play Devil's advocate, especially for such a slimy little prick, but he's not denying that he killed the woman, but does deny murdering her. His lawyers argue that he tried to resuscitate her, which they say showed he wanted to keep her alive. How much evidence they have of this action, I don't know.

My bet is he'll get 12-15, which is harsh by Japanese standards for a single killing by a first offender. Don't be surprised if he gets off the murder rap, but he's already made a guilty plea for rape resulting in murder, which almost ensures a decade.

Rather than get more time for his escape and the attempted cover-up, he'll probably be given the maximum sentence possible, but he'll also get a bit of leeway for showing remorse.

Do I support it? No, but they're society's rules and he's a little rich boy whose defense team knows how to play the game and are quite possibly well funded by his wealthy parents.

Don't be surprised if he gets a comparatively lenient sentence, like Obara did by paying millions to Lucie Blackman's dad. Let's not forget, TIJ.

[tidbits]

Interesting to see what evidence of planning the prosecution can produce. Where and when did he get the sand for the bathtub for example? Any weapons, ropes, duct tape etc used in the crime bought recently?

He went to a home centre not far away to buy the sands, he borrowed the shop's truck to carry it back.

Anyone here read his book? I don't think there are all truth in there but I am still curious of what happenned in that 2 years +.

[let`s talk]

Don't be surprised if he gets a comparatively lenient sentence, like Obara did by paying millions to Lucie Blackman's dad. Let's not forget, TIJ.

If he gets a lenient sentence, it won't be because he would pay to Lindsay's dad. That father doesn't look like the Lucie's daddy type.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

If he gets a lenient sentence, it won't be because he would pay to Lindsay's dad. That father doesn't look like the Lucie's daddy type.

I agree entirely that Lindsay's dad seems unlikely to take it, but I have no doubt in my mind that Ichihashi would offer to pay it if he can.

Over the years, I think the Hawkers have been wonderful ambassadors for Britain, acting in a calm and dignified manner even though they must have gone through absolute hell.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Ichihashi went onto the witness stand for the first time yesterday. He was questioned by his own lawyers and reckons he didn't know he was throttling his victim.

He told the court: "After I raped her, I jumped on her from behind and threw my arm around her head. She was trying to run away and I wanted to stop her. I didn't know was applying pressure on her neck."

Surprised there hasn't been blanket coverage of the trial in English. Stand by my guess of 10-12 years and slight possibility of acquittal on the murder charge.

[Mulboyne]

Sankei reckons (Japanese) a handful of Ichihashi Girls are attending the trial. Demand for courtroom tickets remains high. There are only 57 public spaces and the first day saw 975 applicant. Subsequent days have seen between 250-450 applicants.