Murder case accused says sorry to family
Tatsuya Ichihashi is awaiting trial for the killing, after being arrested at a ferry port in Osaka, southern Japan, last November.
Miss Hawker's body was discovered in a sand-filled bath at the 31-year-old's Tokyo apartment in March 2007.
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Hide AdThe 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.