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Sunday, 23 March 2008, 15:27 GMT

Hawker murder family fly to Japan

The Hawker family hope to raise the profile of the investigation
Hawker family at Heathrow Airport The parents of a teacher found murdered in a bath of sand in Tokyo have again appealed for help catching her killer.

Bill and Julia Hawker are flying to Japan to raise the profile of the hunt for the killer of Lindsay Ann, 22, who was found dead last March.

The couple, from Brandon, Warwickshire, said they hoped to finally "get justice" by helping catch murder suspect Tatsuya Ichihashi.

Police recently issued posters showing how he may look disguised as a woman.

Mr and Mrs Hawker made their appeal at Heathrow Airport as they prepared to fly to Tokyo.

'Justice for Lindsay'

Clutching a photo of his daughter, Mr Hawker described her as "a beautiful girl who went to the other side of the world to teach English".

He said: "All of Lindsay's family and friends all over the world remain determined to keep up their efforts, and to seek justice for their daughter, sister and friend.

Japanese police poster showing how Tatsuya Ichihashi might look if disguised as a woman

"Please don't let Lindsay's death be in vain, help us to get justice for Lindsay.

"She was an amazing young woman, who travelled to Japan to teach. She was brutally murdered and this evil man needs to be caught before he strikes again."

His daughter's body was found in a sand-filled bathtub at Mr Ichihashi's flat in Ichikawa, east of Tokyo.

When police arrived, he fled, losing his shoes and a rucksack in the chase.

It is thought Ms Hawker had arranged to meet him for English lessons.

Learning Japanese

Mr and Mrs Hawker, 51, are travelling to Japan with their two daughters Lisa, 26, and Louise, 23.

They have been learning Japanese in preparation for the trip.

Lindsay Ann Hawker

Lisa Hawker said the family would not give up the hunt for Mr Ichihashi.

She said: "He committed a dreadful act on my sister, it wasn't just murder, and that's why he needs to be taken off the streets."

The family intend to give a news conference on Easter Monday in the hope of raising the profile of the case.

Mrs Hawker said: "We're going back to Japan so that we can remind everybody that Ichihashi, the only suspect in the case, is still at large.

"We want to raise the awareness and make a plea to the Japanese people to try and help us find him, and if they have any information to contact the Japanese police.

"The problem is, because we're 7,000 miles away, it's very difficult to maintain communications."

She said Japanese police had had more than 2,000 potential sightings during the past 12 months which they were following up.

Mrs Hawker added: "We're satisfied that the police are working very hard but we're disappointed that initially they let Ichihashi escape.

"We realise that we have to rely on the Japanese police, they're our only means of apprehending this man, and we want to give them all the support we can."




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Related to this story:
'We want to help Lindsay to rest' (21 Mar 08 |  UK )
Airport appeal for killed teacher (25 Sep 07 |  Coventry/Warwickshire )
Murdered daughter 'was drugged' (22 Aug 07 |  Coventry/Warwickshire )
E-mail hope in bath death search (13 Aug 07 |  Coventry/Warwickshire )
Teacher's parents appeal in Japan (27 Jun 07 |  UK )
Profile: Lindsay Ann Hawker (28 Mar 07 |  UK )

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Lindsay Ann Hawker website
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