Bath murder suspect says he is sorry

Tatsuya Ichihashi is awaiting trial for the killing, after being arrested at a ferry port in Osaka, southern Japan, in November last year.

Miss Hawker’s body was discovered in a sand-filled bath at the 31-year-old’s Tokyo apartment in March 2007.

The 22-year-old, from Brandon, near Coventry, had been teaching in Japan after graduating from university in Leeds.

A spokeswoman for the Hawker family said they had received a letter from a member of Ichihashi’s defence team a month ago on his behalf.

She said the letter said Ichihashi was “very sorry” and was a “good person” and went into detail about what he had done during his time on the run.

The spokeswoman said the family did not believe a word of it and did not want any dialogue with Mr Ichihashi or his lawyers.

Miss Hawker’s parents Bill and Julia said in a statement: “Ichihashi escaped from police and used plastic surgery to change his features and wanted to be free for the rest of his life.

“We just want some justice for Lindsay and have full confidence in the police justice system.

“There isn’t any point in Ichihashi or his defence team trying to contact us.”