CHIBA - A Japanese man was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday for raping and killing Briton Lindsay Ann Hawker and burying her naked body in a sand-filled bathtub in a case that horrified Japan and sparked a media frenzy.
Tatsuya Ichihashi, 32, who was living in the apartment where the 22-year-old English teacher's body was found in 2007, eluded a massive manhunt for nearly three years after fleeing his apartment when police arrived to question him. He even mutilated his face to change his appearance.
Hawker's parents came from Britain to hear the verdict. Her mother wiped tears from her face and nodded several times as she listened to the verdict.
