She agreed to give a stranger an English lesson. Days later, police found her body hidden in a bathtub full of sand on his apartment balcony.
Who Was Lindsay Hawker
Lindsay Hawker, from Coventry, England, graduated from the University of Leeds with a first-class degree in biology before moving to Japan in October 2006 to teach English at a Nova language school branch in Tokyo. She shared an apartment with two other foreign teachers.
Meeting Tatsuya Ichihashi
In March 2007, Tatsuya Ichihashi, a 28-year-old unemployed man living off his parents' support, approached Hawker, falsely claiming to be one of her students. He followed her home and asked to come inside; she allowed him in briefly, introducing him to her flatmates as a precaution. He left his name, phone number, and a sketch of her, and the two arranged to meet for a paid English lesson.
The Murder
On March 24, 2007, Hawker met Ichihashi at a cafe. He told her he had forgotten his payment at his apartment, and she accompanied him there by taxi, asking the driver to wait. She never returned. Ichihashi killed her inside his apartment. He then shaved her head, bound her body, and buried it in a mixture of sand and compost soil in a portable bathtub on his balcony, using chemicals intended to accelerate decomposition.
The Manhunt
When police arrived at Ichihashi's apartment on March 26 following a missing-persons report, he fled on foot, evading nine officers on the scene. A nationwide manhunt followed. Ichihashi remained at large for over two and a half years, reportedly undergoing multiple cosmetic surgeries to alter his appearance, including procedures on his nose, lips, and eyelids.
The Arrest
Ichihashi was captured on November 10, 2009, in Osaka, attempting to board a ferry. A cosmetic surgery clinic that had recently treated him was among the tips that led investigators to him. He was charged with abandoning a body, and later with rape and murder. He eventually admitted to suffocating Hawker during a sexual assault.
Conviction
On July 21, 2011, the Chiba District Court sentenced Ichihashi to life imprisonment. The court declined to impose the death penalty Hawker's family had requested, citing his lack of prior convictions and his relative youth. Ichihashi later wrote a book about the case and offered its royalties to the Hawker family, which they declined.
FAQ
How long was Lindsay Hawker's killer on the run?
Tatsuya Ichihashi evaded capture for about two and a half years before his arrest in November 2009.
What sentence did Ichihashi receive?
Life imprisonment, handed down by the Chiba District Court in July 2011.
How did Ichihashi avoid capture for so long?
He reportedly underwent multiple cosmetic surgery procedures to alter his appearance while evading police.