Lindsay’s body lay buried in a detachable bathtub.

Her body was covered with a mixture of sand and compost soil.

A decomposing agent was placed in the soil to speed up the decomposition process. And flower seeds were placed on top

 

 

Born on December 30th, 1984, in Coventry, England, Lindsay Ann Hawker was a cheerful, intelligent, kind-hearted, accomplished, and well-liked individual. After completing her Bachelor's degree in biology with top honors, Lindsay opted to spend a year teaching English in Japan.

Following her teaching stint in Japan, Lindsay set her sights on obtaining a Master's degree.

In October of 2006, Lindsay secured a teaching position at Nova's Kiowa branch in Tokyo, Japan. She arrived in Tokyo and took up residence in Chiba, sharing lodgings with two other foreign teachers. Despite making new acquaintances, Lindsay felt homesick as she had left behind a loving family, a large circle of friends, and a boyfriend in England.

 

In March 2007, Lindsay’s parents were getting worried over her sudden silence.

She always kept in touch with them.

 

Subsequently, the school where Lindsay worked contacted her family when she failed to show up for two consecutive days. Upon learning of Lindsay's absence, the school reported her disappearance to the authorities, initiating a search for her.

The investigation commenced at her shared residence, where Lindsay's housemates were questioned, and they all pointed to a particular person of interest. They revealed that Lindsay had met with a man at a coffee shop before she vanished, and the man had left a sketch of Lindsay at the apartment, which included his name and phone number.

The police traced the man's address, but their knock on the door went unanswered.

 

The police, standing on the man's balcony, peered inside his apartment, but the lights were switched off. Nonetheless, they spotted suspicious activity, leading them to summon reinforcements in preparation for a raid on his home.

Suddenly, the man opened the front door and slipped past the police, who were unable to apprehend him. He fled the apartment and vanished from sight, evading capture.

The Police Found a Horrible Scene

The authorities went in for a gruesome scene inside the man’s apartment.

In a strange turn of events, the man's portable bathtub was discovered on his balcony, and it contained the lifeless, unclothed body of Lindsay. She was buried in a mixture of sand and compost soil, with only her right hand visible. Shockingly, all of Lindsay's hair had been shaved off.

She had been bound and gagged with plastic ties, and her upper body was covered in bruises.

 

The man deliberately applied a soil containing a decomposing agent to accelerate the decomposition of a naked body, while also placing flower seeds on top to conceal the body in a bathtub disguised as a flowerbed. Lindsay's belongings were scattered throughout the area.

Upon investigating the man's apartment, authorities found multiple wigs, leading them to suspect that he may have been a cross-dresser.

 

The next day, Tatsuya Ichihashi became a fugitive on the run throughout Japan. Wanted posters bearing his image were distributed by the police and various news outlets.

Despite this widespread attention, Tatsuya proved to be skilled at evading detection. He remained elusive, managing to escape the authorities and his disappearance dragged on from weeks to years.

 

“A Japanese man buried the naked body of twenty-two-year-old Lindsay Ann. He went to great lengths to avoid detection, including mutilating his nose to change his appearance.” 

 

Who Was Tatsuya?

 

Tatsuya Ichihashi, a resident of Chiba, was 28 years old and hailed from a prosperous family. His father was a medical doctor at a local hospital, and his mother was a successful dentist. Tatsuya had earned a degree in horticulture, but he did not make any efforts to seek employment and lived off his parents' financial support.

Before the Lindsay incident, Tatsuya had no prior criminal record. However, there was an allegation of theft and injury against him in the past. According to reports, Tatsuya had assaulted a woman during a robbery on the street. But the matter was resolved outside of the court system. Tatsuya's father reportedly paid the woman a settlement to resolve the issue.

In March 2007, Tatsuya Ichihashi had an unusual encounter with Lindsay Hawker.

After finishing work for the day, Lindsay went to collect her bike when she was approached from behind by Tatsuya. He greeted her and claimed to know her from an English class, but Lindsay was certain he was not one of her students and ignored him. However, Tatsuya followed Lindsay to her apartment and made a proposal for English lessons.

 

Initially hesitant, Lindsay eventually allowed Tatsuya into her apartment to get a glass of water, hoping to show him she did not live alone, with her housemates also present. Once inside, Tatsuya offered to pay the equivalent of thirty-two dollars per hour for the lessons, and Lindsay agreed.

Tatsuya then thanked Lindsay and wrote down his name and phone number, as well as a sketch of Lindsay, before leaving.

 

How Tatsuya Killed Lindsay

Lindsay Hawker contacted Tatsuya Ichihashi on March 24th, 2007, and they arranged to meet for an English lesson at a local coffee shop. However, during the meeting, Tatsuya claimed to have forgotten his payment at his apartment. Lindsay accompanied him to retrieve it, and they got into a taxi. Lindsay asked the driver to wait for her, but she never returned. Tragically, Tatsuya had raped and strangled Lindsay before disposing of her body by shaving her head and placing it in a mixture of sand and compost soil.

Tatsuya Deformed His Face

 

After their daughter's tragic murder, Lindsay's parents traveled to Japan to raise awareness and assist in the investigation. Meanwhile, Tatsuya Ichihashi had altered his appearance through self-mutilation, including the removal of moles, cutting off part of his lower lip with scissors, and even sewing a thread through his nose to change its shape.

In June 2009, the police increased the cash reward for information leading to Tatsuya's arrest from ¥1 million to ¥10 million. By October of the same year, a plastic surgeon from Nagoya contacted the police, claiming to have recently operated on someone he believed was Tatsuya. The surgeon had taken before and after photos of the operation, which were shared with the public, leading to a breakthrough in the investigation.

 

The Aftermath

From the public pictures, a port worker recognized Tatsuya as he boarded a ferry to flee to Okinawa.

And the police arrested him.

In 2011, Tatsuya was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Lindsay.

“Ichihashi, you have taken away a precious life, destroyed a whole existence, and stolen countless memories from us.” — Lindsay’s  parents