Suspected killer of British woman detained in Japan

A man believed to be Tatsuya Ichihashi, who is suspected of killing British woman Lindsay Ann Hawker, has been detained while attempting to board a ferry in Osaka, according to Japanese media.

Ichihashi, 30, is suspected of killing Hawker before disposing of her body on his balcony in Chiba Prefecture.

The net had tightened on the suspect in recent days after it was discovered that he had had cosmetic surgery to alter his face and his fingerprints were found in the dormitory of a company where Ichihashi is believed to have been working for the last year.

The suspect is believed to have been attempting to again avoid capture, with the ferry he was boarding headed for Okinawa.

Ichihashi eluded capture in 2007 by escaping from police when they visited his house, and discovered Hawker's body, buried in sand on his balcony. Ichihashi managed to escape despite the fact he was barefoot.

Hawker's body was found to have been strangled, and had severe bruising.

The victim's family have visited Japan on a number of occasions to appeal for help from the public to catch the man who became the nation's most wanted fugitive, with thousands of posters featuring his face distributed throughout the country and a reward of 10 million yen (111,000 U.S. dollars) offered for anybody with information on his whereabouts.

Source: Xinhua