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Suspect in Hawker murder arrested in Osaka
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After approximately 960 days on the run, Tatsuya Ichihashi, the only suspect in the murder of Lindsay Ann Hawker outside of Tokyo in March of 2007, was arrested in Osaka the evening of November 10th (JST). It is reported that Ichihashi was captured at a ferry port after an employee tipped off police. Ichihashi has since been transferred back to the greater Tokyo area for arraignment by the Chiba Prefectural Police.
Ichihashi's arrest
According to the Sankei-Kansai, at around 6:45 an employee at the Osaka Minami Ferry Terminal called police to inform them that “there is a man who looks like Ichihashi” there. Ichihashi had reportedly been waiting on a bench in the Terminal building for a boat bound to Okinawa Island. The police arrived quickly; and after brief direct questioning, Ichihashi, who appeared extremely worn out, admitted who he was to the officers.
It is reported that the informant became suspicious because Ichihashi was wearing a knit-cap, sunglasses, and a facemask, and had unusually little baggage for such a trip. However, the key giveaway was the fresh scars on Ichihashi’s nose.
It had come to light at the beginning of the month that a man police believed to be Ichihashi had undergone minor plastic surgery on his nose at a clinic in Nagoya on October 24th. It was also believed that Ichihashi may have tried to receive other cosmetic surgery in several other cities around the country.
Recent time line leading to Ichihashi's arrest
On November 5tb, police released photos of Ichihashi’s new face taken by the Nogoya clinic. Ichihashi looks strikingly different from the pictures on his wanted poster from the past two and a half years. Between the time that police released Ichihashi’s photo and his arrest, police say they had received more than 1,000 tips on his possible whereabouts.
It was also discovered during that time that Ichihashi had lived and worked at a construction company in Osaka under the false name of Kousuke Inoue from August of 2008 until October of 2009. The Sankei-Kansai reported that Ichihashi had begged the company president on the street to give him a job. After receiving employment he maintained a low profile, while saving his money.
The Mainichi reported that upon his arrest, Ichihashi told police, “I have nothing to explain. I have nothing I want to say.”
Hawker family comments on Ichihashi's arrest
At a press conference outside their home in England, the victims’s family told reporters, “This has been a long, hard battle for the Hawkers, and that battle is over…We wanted justice, and we finally got justice.” According to the Mainichi, the victim’s father, Bill, still feels angry because Ichihashi has shown no signs of repentance. Ichihashi had been on the run for more than two and a half years, and was still attempting to hide at the time of his arrested.
Tatsuya Ichihashi is currently under arrest on the technical charge of “abandonment of a corpse.” There is no information yet whether that charge will be changed or upgraded.
Related Articles: Lindsay Ann Hawker murder suspect may have received plastic surgery
Read more news from Japan by the Japan Headlines Examiner
(The Hawker family comments to reporter upon hearing news of Tatsuya Ichihashi arrest)
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