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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Suspect in Hawker murder arrested | Suspect in Hawker murder arrested |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The only suspect in the murder of British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker has been arrested by police in Japan, the Foreign Office has confirmed. | The only suspect in the murder of British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker has been arrested by police in Japan, the Foreign Office has confirmed. |
| Tatsuya Ichihashi, 30, is being held in police custody in Osaka. | Tatsuya Ichihashi, 30, is being held in police custody in Osaka. |
| Miss Hawker, 22, from Brandon, near Coventry, was buried in a sand-filled bath at the suspect's Tokyo flat in March 2007, but Ichihashi disappeared. | |
| Her father, Bill Hawker, said: "The chief investigator office told me we always get our man and they have done." | |
| 'Got justice' | |
| Mr Hawker added: "This has been a long, hard battle. | |
| "We have worked tirelessly as a family and have never given in for our daughter. | |
| "We have wanted justice and we have finally got it." | |
| At a press conference at their home, Mr Hawker praised Japanese police who, he said, "after a very bungled start" to his daughter's murder "had got their man." | |
| Earlier Mr Ichihashi's mother appeared on television urging her son to turn himself in to police. | |
| 'Police custody' | |
| A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are glad and relieved that the only suspect in this case, Tatsuya Ichihashi, has been found and is now in police custody. | A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are glad and relieved that the only suspect in this case, Tatsuya Ichihashi, has been found and is now in police custody. |
| "We are grateful to the Japanese police for their efforts and we remain in close contact with the Hawker family." | "We are grateful to the Japanese police for their efforts and we remain in close contact with the Hawker family." |
| A spokesman for the Osaka Prefectural Police said: "We have detained a person in Osaka city who appears to be the suspect in the murder." | A spokesman for the Osaka Prefectural Police said: "We have detained a person in Osaka city who appears to be the suspect in the murder." |
| Miss Hawker, a Leeds University graduate, was teaching English at Koiwa school in Tokyo when she went missing on 25 March, 2007. | Miss Hawker, a Leeds University graduate, was teaching English at Koiwa school in Tokyo when she went missing on 25 March, 2007. |
| Her body was discovered on the balcony of Mr Ichihashi's flat, taped-up and half-buried in a bathtub. The suspect escaped as police arrived at his flat. | Her body was discovered on the balcony of Mr Ichihashi's flat, taped-up and half-buried in a bathtub. The suspect escaped as police arrived at his flat. |
| Lindsay Ann Hawker's body was found in a bathtub filled with sand | Lindsay Ann Hawker's body was found in a bathtub filled with sand |
| According to unconfirmed reports in the Japanese media, police detained a man believed to be Mr Ichihashi at Osaka ferry port at about 1800 local time. | According to unconfirmed reports in the Japanese media, police detained a man believed to be Mr Ichihashi at Osaka ferry port at about 1800 local time. |
| It was suggested he was waiting for a ferry bound for the island of Okinawa in the far south-west of Japan. | It was suggested he was waiting for a ferry bound for the island of Okinawa in the far south-west of Japan. |
| He is reported to have told officers: "I am Ichihashi." | He is reported to have told officers: "I am Ichihashi." |
| Mr Ichihashi is thought to have recently had plastic surgery to change his appearance. He is believed to have had cheek implants and lip-thinning. | Mr Ichihashi is thought to have recently had plastic surgery to change his appearance. He is believed to have had cheek implants and lip-thinning. |
| Police went to the clinic where a plastic surgery patient believed to be Mr Ichihashi had a follow-up appointment, but he never arrived. | Police went to the clinic where a plastic surgery patient believed to be Mr Ichihashi had a follow-up appointment, but he never arrived. |
| Miss Hawker's family has visited Japan several times, appealing to police and the public for help in finding the suspect. | Miss Hawker's family has visited Japan several times, appealing to police and the public for help in finding the suspect. |
| Her father appealed to the Japanese public for her killer to be caught, saying the incident "brought shame" on the country. | |