Published: 20 Sep 2008
It was agony going to the flat where Lindsay was murdered but we'll never stop the hunt for her killer
THE sight of the pink and orange tulips against the cold grey Tokyo apartment block where his daughter spent her last hours was too much for Bill Hawker to bear.
He had intended to seek solace in laying the flowers but, consumed by grief and anger, the devoted dad battered the flat door with his fists before sliding down the wall in a torrent of sobs.
Bill’s tears fell on a note he had written to murdered Lindsay, on behalf of her family — mum Julie, 51, and sisters Lisa, 27, and Louise, 22.
Poignantly it read: “We miss you. We were so proud of you. We will NEVER give up.”
The 55-year-old driving instructor arrived in Japan on Monday to continue the harrowing task of trying to track down his daughter’s killer.
The naked body of 22-year-old Lindsay, who was working as an English language teacher, was found buried in a sand-filled bathtub on the balcony of the apartment in March 2007.
28-year-old student Tatsuya Ichihashi, the flat's owner, persuaded Lindsay to give him private English lessons after spotting her on a train.
At his flat he tied her up with tape and battered her with a blunt instrument before finally strangling her.
Post-mortem tests revealed Lindsay’s body had been treated with chemicals to aid decomposition and Ichihashi had cut off her hair because it would take too much time to decompose.
Ichihashi fled his apartment barefoot via a fire escape as police arrived and is still evading capture despite an ongoing manhunt.
Choking back tears Bill, from Brandon, Warwicks, says: “I felt absolutely dreadful returning to the place where Lindsay was murdered.
“I did not want to go to the apartment but felt it was something I had to do and eventually I did find some peace.
“But when I look out over the balcony I cannot get it out of my head that I am looking at Lindsay’s last view of the world.
“Ichihashi committed a heinous crime, not only murdering my daughter but burying her in a bath of sand before going about his normal life.
“He even visited the gym several times, knowing Lindsay’s body was decomposing on his balcony and that children were playing nearby.
“I have a total feeling of powerlessness because my daughter was murdered 12,000 miles away and there was nothing I could do.
“But I am going to appear on the Japanese equivalent of Crimewatch and a series of news programmes to remind the Japanese public that Ichihashi is still out there, 18 months longer than he should be.”
Bill’s crusade is summed up by a T-shirt he wears bearing Ichihashi’s picture and Japanese words which translate as: “I will not sleep at night until this man is caught”.
He says: “The Hawkers will never give up looking for Ichihashi. We will hunt him for the rest of our lives.
"And when Julie and I are not here any more our two girls will continue — they even say that over Lindsay’s grave. We will hunt him down no matter what it costs.”
Lindsay graduated from Leeds University with a biology degree two years ago and decided to head for Japan — because the Foreign Office website had named it as the second safest country in the world to teach in after New Zealand.
Regular emails and pictures sent home to her family and 23-year-old boyfriend Ryan Garside showed she was loving Tokyo.
But on March 25 last year she missed her regular Sunday phone call home. She had fallen victim to sadistic killer Ichihashi, the son of a wealthy neurosurgeon.
A profile of the wanted man reveals a clever loner who spent hours poring over violent, pornographic Manga comics. He had visited France and Canada but Japanese police believe he is still in the country.
Bill says: “He left the crime scene on foot, with no money or passport. There have been one or two sightings but by the time police pinpoint the locations the trail has gone cold.
“I am now appealing to the Japanese public to be brave and follow him if they believe they have seen him. Obviously they must not try to apprehend him but it may give police the extra help they need.”
In the UK Bill and Julie receive weekly progress updates from Japanese police. Yet Bill admits feeling isolated, adding: “We find we are very much on our own now.
“Initially Tony Blair and Margaret Beckett wrote saying they would raise Lindsay’s murder at the highest levels, which they did, but we have had very little correspondence with Gordon Brown. I’d be eternally grateful if he could raise the matter with the Japanese Prime Minister.”
A Downing Street spokesman said last night: “The Prime Minister’s sympathy remains with the Hawker family and he will raise Lindsay’s case with the new Japanese Prime Minister.
“The Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, raised the case with the Japanese Foreign Minister in June and the Foreign And Commonwealth Office will continue to provide the Hawkers with as much assistance and support as possible.”
Bill adds: “In our minds Lindsay will always be clever, beautiful and vivacious ... suspended in time. But Ichihashi’s time is up — and we are coming for him.”
IF you have information visit lindsayann-hawker.com or Don’t Forget Lindsay Ann Hawker – Please Remember This Face on facebook.com.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/real_life/article1713077.ecePolice are hunting 28-year-old Tatsuya Ichihashi, who fled the scene of the crime when confronted.
SUSPECT PHOTO