02/04/2007

CCTV footage released in hunt for Lindsay's killer

CCTV footage showing murdered British teacher Lindsay Hawker with the man suspected of killing her have been broadcast on television in Japan.

The footage, understood to date from Sunday - the day that the 22-year-old disappeared - show Miss Hawker with 28-year-old Tatsuya Ichihashi chatting in a coffee shop.

The body of Miss Hawker, from Brandon, Warwickshire, was found in a bath filled with sand in a block of flats in Ichikawa, east of Tokyo, last Monday.

A post-mortem revealed that she had been strangled. She had also suffered severe injuries to her face and hands.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Mr Ichihashi, who lived at the flat where Miss Hawker's body was discovered. He was reportedly seen fleeing barefoot from the flat.

Miss Hawker had been working as an English teacher for the Nova language school and had only been in Japan for a couple of months.

At the weekend, Miss Hawker's father William released a statement, which was read to reporters by Sir Graham Fry, Britain's ambassador to Japan. He said: "My daughter's killer has now brought shame on your country. He must be caught. He cannot be allowed to hide away."

(KMcA/SP)

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