Man cleared of Lucie Blackman murder

The Japanese man accused of the rape and murder of British woman Lucie Blackman has been cleared of the charges.

Businessman Joji Obara, 54, was cleared of raping and killing the 21-year-old, who was working in a bar hostess in Tokyo at the time of her disappearance.

However, he was jailed for life for nine rapes, including that of Australian Carita Ridgeway who died of liver failure in hospital in February 1992, after being drugged with chloroform by Obara.

Lucie, from Sevenoaks in Kent, disappeared in Tokyo in July 2000. Her dismembered body was found in a cave near Obara's home in the village of Miura the following February.

Obara was arrested in 2001 on charges of rape resulting in Miss Blackman's death. He had been on trial at Tokyo District Court since 2003.

The court in Tokyo ruled that there was no direct evidence to link Obara to Lucie's death.

However, he did admit that he had been with her on the day she died, saying that she had become unwell at his apartment after taking drugs. Obara claimed that he contacted a friend to take her back to Tokyo. The friend has since died, so the story could not be challenged.

Obara's lawyer, Yasuo Shionoya, said that an appeal would be lodged against the conviction in the Carita Ridgeway case.

Lucie's mother, Jane Steare, said that she was "heartbroken" by the verdict. She also criticised Lucie's father Tim Blackman for accepting a £450,000 payment from a friend of Obara's. However, Mr Blackman has denied that the payment was "blood money", saying that such "offers of condolence" were common in Japan.

Defendants in Japan can make the payments as part of the court process and in order to express remorse.

The payments are then taken into consideration by judges when passing sentence.

Speaking after the decision was announced, Mr Blackman said that he felt that Lucie had been "robbed of justice" and said that there was evidence which had not been presented at the trial.

(KMcA/JM)