NOVA British female teacher murdered

[Iron Chef]

I did a cursory seach around the boards but didn't see this mentioned anywhere. If there is an existing thread, I apologize in advance. I saw this on the news last night and thought it was worth mentioning. Condolences to her family and friends, hopefully the police will get their act together long enough to catch this guy.

http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/401891/all

Some interesting excerpts:

The naked body of Lindsay Ann Hawker, 22, was found buried in sand in a bathtub on the balcony of a fourth-floor condominium unit in Chiba Prefecture on Monday night.

Hawker was employed as an English teacher at the Nova English school in Koiwa, also in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo.

Ichihashi, who escaped from the scene despite the presence of several police officers, is being sought on a charge of abandoning her body.

The bathtub contained a large amount of sand that completely covered the body except for part of a hand, and she had what appeared to be several assault wounds to the face and arms, according to investigations. The exact cause of death is unknown at this stage.

 

[jte23]

Apparently she left a message on her boyfriend's facebook profile on 20th March
"Love u lots don't worry abt the gut (guy) who chased me home, its jus crazy Japan. miss u xxx."
It's very sad indeed. Heartfelt condolenses to the family and friends.

One thing that slightly bothers me though is the treatment it's getting in the British press.

Parallels are being drawn with the murder in 2000 of a British bar hostess and the whole "crazy Japan" stereoptype is being drafted in, which is quite ironic, as the crime rate in Japan (including homicide) is significantly lower than the UK.

 

[Arlet]

This is sooo sad, why would anyone do that?

 

[Ranpyon]

This is so sad. I cant understand why people sometimes go crazy and do this kind of bad things... Too bad.
It reminds me of Lucy, the hostess that was killed ages ago by a Korean (but Japanese citizen) man.

 

[made of stone]

Parallels are being drawn with the murder in 2000 of a British bar hostess and the whole "crazy Japan" stereoptype is being drafted in, which is quite ironic, as the crime rate in Japan (including homicide) is significantly lower than the UK.

Very very sad news indeed.

The parallels being drawn with Lucie Blackman are inevitable so far, I think. Alas, younger folk the world over (and probably quite a few who should be older and wiser) seem to take unnecessary risks while abroad - though that's not clear yet in this case.

I haven't seen anything about a Japanese stereotype in the British media so far. I even visited the home of British media jingoism - The Sun online, and it seemed fairly balanced (for once).

Let's hope the killer is caught asap.

 

[Glenn]

According to his high school classmates he was pretty easy to snap, and once he did he seemingly couldn't be stopped. Sounds like a sick person to me, perhaps psychopathic.

 

[SushiShin]

There are fools in this world i hope the killer will be caught! and that the law punish him very hard!

 

[misa.j]

I read this upsetting article last night. My deepest condolences to her family and friends.

The fact that the Japanese police didn't mange to arrest the suspect who was bare-footed bothers me as well as the fact that he hasn't been caught yet.

 

[KirinMan]

My condolences to the family, her father has come here to Japan to take home her remains. My heart goes out to him and his family.

I pray that he can find peace in his heart somehow.

 

[undrentide]

I saw her father and her fiance on TV. Her father explained how she was happy to come to Japan and her fiance told that he was planning to come to Japan to teach English and live with her... It is so sad.
My heart goes out to her family, fiance and friends.

According to his high school classmates he was pretty easy to snap, and once he did he seemingly couldn't be stopped. Sounds like a sick person to me, perhaps psychopathic.

What scares me is that recently many people (not only young people) easy to snap, some tend to attack others on impulse - and sometimes end up killing them.

 

[Elizabeth]

I read this upsetting article last night. My deepest condolences to her family and friends.
The fact that the Japanese police didn't mange to arrest the suspect who was bare-footed bothers me as well as the fact that he hasn't been caught yet.

They will solve this case because it is big, high-profile and their world wide image is at risk. Tales of police incompetence or lack of dedication, resources etc in normal crimes I'm not the least surprised at.

The observation by her father that she was murdered for being so kind, caring and helpful is heartbreaking. My deepest condolences to the family in their struggle to survive this unbearably difficult time.

 

[JimmySeal]

As far as I can tell, the Asahi Shimbun has yet to cover this story at all. I am sure that if a foreigner had murdered a Japanese person, it would be plastered all over the front page of every publication in the country.

 

[Karamuucho]

As far as I can tell, the Asahi Shimbun has yet to cover this story at all. I am sure that if a foreigner had murdered a Japanese person, it would be plastered all over the front page of every publication in the country.

As it is being done in England.



My thoughts go out to those affected, but I'm not quite understanding the need to relate the story so much to the case of Lucy Blackman. Besides the nationalities of the victims/criminals, the cases really aren't all that similar. I guess it is inevitable though.

 

[leonmarino]

My thoughts go out to those affected, but I'm not quite understanding the need to relate the story so much to the case of Lucy Blackman. Besides the nationalities of the victims/criminals, the cases really aren't all that similar. I guess it is inevitable though.

I believe there was a bathtub involved, just like in the Lucie Blackman case.. According to Wikipedia, the court case isn't finished yet and a ruling will be handed down in April 24, 2007..

 

[pipokun]

As far as I can tell, the Asahi Shimbun has yet to cover this story at all. I am sure that if a foreigner had murdered a Japanese person, it would be plastered all over the front page of every publication in the country.

Yes, they do.

浴槽に遺棄の英国人女性、不明当日に殺害か 千葉・市川
2007年03月30日07時58分
この記事の関連情報
市橋容疑者、店で接触し後を追う 英女性講師殺害(03/29)
英国人女性殺害 遺棄容疑者、数日前に知り合う(03/28)
英国女性講師変死で２８歳男に逮捕状 死体遺棄容疑(03/28)
ベランダに女性の変死体 浴槽の中、砂に埋もれ 市川(03/27)
http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0330/TKY200703290330.html
[/QUOTE

 

[aliceinwonderland]

I was so upset and shocked to see this story on the news the other day, it is so sad and i cant understand some of the things that go on in the world today.

It came as a great shock to me and gave me a horrible feeling as i am planning to do exactly the same thing and go to teach with Nova next year. i know that Japan is a very safe place to live and terrible things happen in every country and much more than japan but it has just put a shadow on my application the Nova. i have read several articles about japanese men being obsessed and fascinated by white women and as i am white and going to be teaching japanese men i am a little wary. i am going to teach in japan with my boyfriend so i feel a little safer about that but i do not want to be scared about going out alone when i am there as it will spoil the experienece. i have viststed japan twice an d always felt very safe , although i did notice people looking at me but i assume that this is becauase i am not japanese and i am with me boyfriend who is chinese.

just thought i would put my worries down on here and see if anyone could offer any advice or words of wiseness. id be so greatful.
thank you

 

[pipokun]

All I can say is the murderer gives us not shame, but sorrow like you have.

 

[Mr Man]

Sounds as though she had some guy chase her home one night before she was murdered. I wonder if it was him....
I hope they find him soon....He may have killed himself though

 

[Glenn]

I was so upset and shocked to see this story on the news the other day, it is so sad and i cant understand some of the things that go on in the world today.

It came as a great shock to me and gave me a horrible feeling as i am planning to do exactly the same thing and go to teach with Nova next year. i know that Japan is a very safe place to live and terrible things happen in every country and much more than japan but it has just put a shadow on my application the Nova. i have read several articles about japanese men being obsessed and fascinated by white women and as i am white and going to be teaching japanese men i am a little wary. i am going to teach in japan with my boyfriend so i feel a little safer about that but i do not want to be scared about going out alone when i am there as it will spoil the experienece. i have viststed japan twice an d always felt very safe , although i did notice people looking at me but i assume that this is becauase i am not japanese and i am with me boyfriend who is chinese.

just thought i would put my worries down on here and see if anyone could offer any advice or words of wiseness. id be so greatful.
thank you

Here's a piece of advice I was told about from a former NOVA employee: never accept a private lesson at either your place or the student's place. Always go somewhere public.

 

[aliceinwonderland]

thanx, ill take that advise on borad. so would you say it is safe for a white foreigner in japan?

 

[Elizabeth]

Here's a piece of advice I was told about from a former NOVA employee: never accept a private lesson at either your place or the student's place. Always go somewhere public.

I'm not blaming her, but it really is common sense. This could have happened to anyone taking on private lessons in a stranger's home. He wasn't a NOVA student and, at least what we know so far, this doesn't have any relevance whatsoever to her employment at an eikaiwa.

@aliceinwonderland -- They'll look at you no matter what. Whether you're alone, with your boyfriend, Japanese or white friends....The important thing is to remember you ARE in a very safe country and keep going on your way. If you ignore any weird behavior I'm sure you'll be fine. I've never been obsessed after but maybe that is just my average features. Good luck and have fun with NOVA ! Let us know how it turns out !

 

[epigene]

I've just heard in the news that the woman gave the guy private English lesson at a restaurant the day before she was murdered. She must have taken precautions in that way.

I wonder how that guy managed to get her into his apartment?

My deepest condolences to her family and friends...

 

[MeAndroo]

This kind of story makes me wonder if Japan lulls people into a false sense of security. I think we can all agree that Japan is generally safer than many western countries, but did that mindset perhaps play a role in how long she allowed this guy to hang around? The suspect, Ichikawa, was already "stalking her," but she gave him a lesson in a restaurant the day of the murder? If Ichikawa indeed comitted the crime, I would have to wonder if the "Japan is safe" mentality prevented her from searching for police intervention.

What makes a case like this really scary to me is that I have friends that had numerous REPEAT encounters with people who would be classified in the US as sexual offenders. Guys masturbating near their dorms, harassing them at work, etc. It really freaks me out when I think something like this could happen so easily.

 

[leonmarino]

This kind of story makes me wonder if Japan lulls people into a false sense of security.

Well this is indeed a point. Criminal rates only tell half the story or even less; the criteria of an act classified as a crime are different from country to country, and whether people report it or not. Here's an interesting article about it from JapanFocus.

PS: I do think that this "lulling" is done unintentionally. Different countries have different cultures and different ways of handling things.

 

[pipokun]

...
Guys masturbating near their dorms

You mean, on the street? It is a crime, just tell her call the police.