Speaker 1: The murder of Lindsay Anne Hawker is a case that
Speaker 1: captured international attention. Lindsay was a young British woman teaching
Speaker 1: English in Japan before her body was found buried in
Speaker 1: a bathtub filled with soil in two thousand and seven.
Speaker 1: The following manhunt would keep the perpetrator running for years
Speaker 1: and seeking out extreme measures to hide their identity.
Speaker 2: My name is Ben and I'm Nicole, and you're listening
Speaker 2: to Wicked and Grim, a true crime podcast.
Speaker 1: The following podcast and material intended for a mature audience
Speaker 1: listener discretion. That was the slowest opening of a can
Speaker 1: I think in the history of our podcast.
Speaker 2: I'm very rusty about.
Speaker 1: Like, for ten seconds before we even actually had the
Speaker 1: podcast going, Nicole was struggling with that tab.
Speaker 2: Are you going to put that on the video? Oh?
Speaker 1: Definitely, it'll be on YouTube. You'll see the struggle for sure.
Speaker 2: With my double chin problemly.
Speaker 1: Trust me, we all have it. Why do you think
Speaker 1: I have a beer?
Speaker 2: I haven't had a bevy on here for a while. No,
Speaker 2: you haven't gonna sit back and relax.
Speaker 1: I'm sitting back sipping some water through straw.
Speaker 2: Yeah, because you're having some issues.
Speaker 1: I am having some issues. I don't know if you
Speaker 1: guys can hear it in my voice, but I've been
Speaker 1: sick a little bit last couple of days. I already
Speaker 1: feel like I'm getting better, but I pretty much lost
Speaker 1: my voice yesterday, so recovering a bit. Hopefully it don't
Speaker 1: sound too bad. Hopefully it don't fade too much as
Speaker 1: this episode goes on.
Speaker 2: I know it's too bad. I wish I had an
Speaker 2: episode done, but I do not. Yeah, so I can't
Speaker 2: really help you out.
Speaker 1: It's all good, though. I mean, I do have your
Speaker 1: support when I need it usually, and we also usually
Speaker 1: have the support of our patrons who are here thanking
Speaker 1: us all the time because they get the awesome behind
Speaker 1: the scenes and we are thanking them for being so
Speaker 1: amazing to us.
Speaker 2: They sure do. They get some cool behind the scenes.
Speaker 1: Actually they do. So this week we had a few
Speaker 1: awesome people sign up and we're going to give them
Speaker 1: a shout out. We had Jamie sign up, Michael B.
Speaker 1: Misty Smith, Chris and Carter than Drill. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1: You guys appreciate it so much. Yeah, they're getting all
Speaker 1: that good behind the scenes. The extra episode at the
Speaker 1: end of the month.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's almost the end of the month it is.
Speaker 1: So we got to get on that episode. I just
Speaker 1: realized maybe it's maybe we'll do the one where I
Speaker 1: was watching that documentary.
Speaker 2: On Well, yeah, Ben's doing like the intro, and I
Speaker 2: was like, uh, I thought we were doing another case.
Speaker 1: No, I just got a bunch of cases on the
Speaker 1: go all at once.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you do this one sounds interesting, though.
Speaker 1: I'm also reading a book for another case, which is
Speaker 1: it's a tough book. But uh yeah, that's besides the point.
Speaker 1: We'll touch on that one eventually.
Speaker 2: Yeah, look at you, just working away.
Speaker 1: Work work, work, work, work. I don't even know that song,
Speaker 1: but that's the only part of it I know. I
Speaker 1: don't even know who sings it or anything. It just work, work, work, work,
Speaker 1: that's all I got.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I don't know what I can help you right now.
Speaker 1: Actually yeah, yeah, I don't know anyways. So, yeah, this
Speaker 1: is the case of Lindsay and Hawker. Are you ready
Speaker 1: to dive into this one?
Speaker 2: I guess so, I guess so. Yeah, Well for.
Speaker 1: This one, we're gonna hop on a plane. We're gonna
Speaker 1: go all the way over to Japan. So buckle your
Speaker 1: seatbelts because here we go. So Lindsay and Hawker was
Speaker 1: born on December thirtieth, nineteen eighty four, in Conventory, England.
Speaker 1: She grew up in a loving family with two sisters
Speaker 1: and was known for her her smarts. Is known for
Speaker 1: her smarts not only though, but her kindness and adventurous
Speaker 1: spirit as well. On top of it all, Lindsay was very,
Speaker 1: very very smart. I said smart at the beginning, because
Speaker 1: she is exactly that. I want to highlight that verse.
Speaker 1: She is incredibly smart. She actually graduated from the University
Speaker 1: of Leeds with a degree in biology in two thousand
Speaker 1: and six. She also harbored a deep desire to explore
Speaker 1: the world, and she was very eagerly anticipating embarking on
Speaker 1: a global journey with her boyfriend, Ryan garsaid. So the
Speaker 1: two are just like, yeah, We're going to just go
Speaker 1: see the world together, which is adorable as fuck.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So they planned to travel the world, you know,
Speaker 1: diving into whatever cultural experiences they could. Right However, before
Speaker 1: setting off in their adventure, Lindsay accepted a teaching position
Speaker 1: in Tokyo, Japan, which would temporarily delay their plans. Being
Speaker 1: the fact that she's so smart, of course, she's going
Speaker 1: to be, you know, a teacher, right, So they agreed
Speaker 1: that Ryan would join her the following summer after she
Speaker 1: she did this role for a little while, at which
Speaker 1: point they would finally, you know, commence their long awaited
Speaker 1: travels across the globe. So in two thousand and seven,
Speaker 1: at the age of twenty two, Lindsay arrived in Japan
Speaker 1: to begin her role at the Tokyo Nova Language School
Speaker 1: and quickly adapted to her new environment, making friends and
Speaker 1: enjoying the experiences of living abroad and of course keeping
Speaker 1: in touch with her parents and family and friends and.
Speaker 2: Boyfriends and her boyfriend yeah, yep, And she.
Speaker 1: Was doing great and ensuring everything's going good. She's safe,
Speaker 1: it's a fantastic place to be and all that sort
Speaker 1: of thing. She embraced all the challenges of living in
Speaker 1: a foreign country. She's enthusiastic about the opportunities. Like I said,
Speaker 1: they kept in close contact, where she kept in close
Speaker 1: contact with her family, you name it. Lindsay didn't know though,
Speaker 1: but soon her world would come crashing down. And it
Speaker 1: all occurred when she met an individual by the name
Speaker 1: of Tatsuya Ichi Hashi. Now. Tatsuya was born in Gifu Prefecture,
Speaker 1: Japan in nineteen seventy nine. He came from a very
Speaker 1: well off family and was well educated, having attended Chu
Speaker 1: University of Tokyo. Despite his privileged background, though, Tatsuya led
Speaker 1: a bit of a troubled life, exhibiting antisocial behavior and
Speaker 1: showing signs of instability. He struggled to find his place
Speaker 1: in society and had a history of violent behavior, which
Speaker 1: was known to some of his acquaintances. On the morning
Speaker 1: of March twenty first, in two thousand and seven, Lindsay
Speaker 1: was at a coffee shop near Guyotku train station in
Speaker 1: the eastern part of Tokyo. It was here that she
Speaker 1: would finally meet Tatsuya for the first time. Now, Tatsuya
Speaker 1: approached Lindsay and struck up a conversation while she was
Speaker 1: sitting there at the coffee shop. He claimed that he
Speaker 1: wanted to learn English, and he presented himself as a
Speaker 1: prospective student and showed a keen interest in taking private
Speaker 1: English lessons from her. So right here, like they haven't
Speaker 1: met before, they don't know who each other are.
Speaker 2: I was just wondering, I was gonna ask, does he
Speaker 2: know did he know her before?
Speaker 1: No? But clearly he has some idea of who she is.
Speaker 2: H Okay, Yeah, that's that's sort of unsettling.
Speaker 1: Just a little bit. It's almost like he's been watching
Speaker 1: or something.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: But by the sounds of this interaction, though, it sounds
Speaker 1: like he played it off like like almost like he
Speaker 1: recognized her, like as being an English teacher from somewhere,
Speaker 1: like I saw some articles where he claimed that he
Speaker 1: was like a student of hers or something along those lines. Already.
Speaker 1: Oh okay, and he was looking more for private lessons
Speaker 1: for anything. But she didn't recognize him or know who
Speaker 1: he was so regardless. During their conversations together at the
Speaker 1: coffee shop, Tatsuya actually asked if you could sketch a
Speaker 1: portrait of her as well. Lindsay found this request a
Speaker 1: little bit unusual, but you know, she agreed.
Speaker 2: Oh shit, man, this is the worst coffee shop encounter ever.
Speaker 2: I would be like, hell no, hell no, hell no no.
Speaker 1: Well, I mean you can actually go online, you can
Speaker 1: see the sketch as well.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh. Can you just imagine some random person
Speaker 2: a like knowing what the fuck you do for a
Speaker 2: living and then be asking like if they can just
Speaker 2: draw you?
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, by the sound like the way we're
Speaker 1: presenting it and looking at it from the outside, I'm
Speaker 1: sure it sounds rather obtuse, if you will, But put
Speaker 1: it this way, assume you're in Lindsay's shoes, and assume
Speaker 1: that you're trusting this guy that, yeah, he is a
Speaker 1: student at the place that you're teaching. Maybe they had
Speaker 1: a conversation and how he's passionate about not only learning
Speaker 1: other languages but also art as well, and then maybe
Speaker 1: she's like, Oh, that's awesome you doing art. What kind
Speaker 1: of stuff do you do? He's like, Oh, I do
Speaker 1: like portrait sketches and stuff. I could draw you if
Speaker 1: you like. Is that okay? I'll draw you? Now? What
Speaker 1: if it's a casual conversation like that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, still no, okay, okay, I would still be like no,
Speaker 2: fair enough, Like it just seems so weird to me.
Speaker 1: Fair enough, I'm just trying to play devil's advocate here.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, like, at least let's go for coffee
Speaker 2: a second time and then maybe we'll chat about that.
Speaker 1: Understandable. Well, she agreed instead of turning him down, and
Speaker 1: as he sketched, they continued to talk and he expressed
Speaker 1: his desire to improve his English skills. This interaction all
Speaker 1: seemed harmless and went rather professional, fitting into Lindsay's role
Speaker 1: as an English teacher right who often interacted with individuals
Speaker 1: interested in learning the language. A bit more so. After
Speaker 1: a while, Lindsay actually agreed to give him an English lesson,
Speaker 1: a private one. So they arranged me in at his
Speaker 1: apartment on March twenty fifth, two thousand and seven for
Speaker 1: the lesson, meeting him outside of her regular teaching hours.
Speaker 1: Now I understand, especially Nicole's face right now, She's like, h,
Speaker 1: this wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Really wasn't anything
Speaker 1: entirely unusual. A lot of English teachers in Japan offered
Speaker 1: private lessons to supplement their income, so it was kind
Speaker 1: of a normal thing to go to someone's place and
Speaker 1: actually teach them.
Speaker 2: Okay, I feel like, yeah, the teaching thing and the
Speaker 2: private lesson seems totally fine. Yeah, But I feel like
Speaker 2: if they had just maybe done it in a public
Speaker 2: space like the coffee shop, well it might have been better.
Speaker 1: I do mention a little bit later on when they
Speaker 1: actually do meet up, they did plan to meet at
Speaker 1: a coffee shop again first and then from there go
Speaker 1: to his apartment. Okay, So the plan is, yeah, we're
Speaker 1: going to meet up on this date. We're going to
Speaker 1: go to your apartment, but we're meeting at coffee shop
Speaker 1: again first. So we'll meet at the coffee shop, go
Speaker 1: to your apartment for the lesson.
Speaker 2: I just mean doing the lesson entirely at the coffee
Speaker 2: shop would be a better idea, fair.
Speaker 1: Enough, but that's not going to prevent anything sketchy from happening.
Speaker 1: Say on the second lesson in the apartment, then well.
Speaker 2: I just mean forever doing the lesson now way, okay, okay,
Speaker 2: fair enough. I'm not going along with any of this
Speaker 2: Devil's Advocate stuff, am I.
Speaker 1: No, you're not. But I mean, honestly, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of people who do I have a tutor lessons at home,
Speaker 1: not even just educational wise, but they think music lessons,
Speaker 1: piano lessons, yeah, something seeing lessons or whatever it is.
Speaker 1: Maybe true home inspectors go into your home and inspect
Speaker 1: like there's a lot of jobs. We covered the pizza
Speaker 1: murders not too long ago, where pizza delivery people come
Speaker 1: to your house.
Speaker 2: Well, and I honestly I had a tutor when I
Speaker 2: was in high school, and they came to my house.
Speaker 2: There you go to teach me how to do math,
Speaker 2: because math is really hard.
Speaker 1: Math do suck? Sometimes? Do be like that? Well, anyways,
Speaker 1: we digress on the dad lesson. Lindsay informed her boyfriend
Speaker 1: Ryan and her friends about the planned meeting and even
Speaker 1: provided Tatsuya's address as a precaution. So good on her, Yeah,
Speaker 1: it showed her her awareness for potential risk for sure. Now.
Speaker 1: What Lindsay didn't know, though, was that Tatsuya had a
Speaker 1: reputation for following foreign women and for being overly persistent
Speaker 1: in his attempts to engage with them, along with his
Speaker 1: aforementioned violent behavior. So in March twenty fifth, two thousand
Speaker 1: and seven, Lindsay met Tatsuya as planned. They spent a
Speaker 1: little bit of time at their initial meeting place at
Speaker 1: the cafe, and then headed to his apartment thereafter. What
Speaker 1: exactly transpired within the confines of his apartment remains partially speculative,
Speaker 1: but the tragic outcome is well documented. Once Lindsay entered
Speaker 1: Tatsuya's home and the door was closed behind them, he
Speaker 1: immediately struck. Tatsuya had planned this all out in his head,
Speaker 1: and he had prepared for the encounter by securing his
Speaker 1: apartment and ensuring that Lindsay would be isolated and unable
Speaker 1: to escape ship.
Speaker 2: This is just a freaking worst nightmare.
Speaker 1: Both individuals were now engaged in a fight, but for
Speaker 1: Lindsay it was a fight for her life. She did
Speaker 1: have a background in kickboxing and she knew how to
Speaker 1: defend herself well, but unfortunately she was no meant for Tatsuya,
Speaker 1: who also had a background and an extensive background in judo,
Speaker 1: and his skills allowed him to easily overpower her. Soon
Speaker 1: it would be noticed by Lindsay's colleagues and friends and
Speaker 1: boyfriend that something was wrong. She wasn't responding to messages
Speaker 1: or calls. Her boyfriend Ryan specifically knew when she was
Speaker 1: supposed to be done it to Tetsuya's home and he
Speaker 1: hadn't been able to reach her. Concern quickly grew, and
Speaker 1: eventually a report was made that she was missing. Police
Speaker 1: were also provided information about the meeting and Tetsuya's address.
Speaker 2: Luckily, and he probably didn't know that she had given
Speaker 2: this to anyone. Eh, I'm assuming no he did not. Okay, no,
Speaker 2: no good on her?
Speaker 1: Yeah, no kidding? She that's huge and honestly that's played
Speaker 1: a huge role in this because if that wasn't the case,
Speaker 1: she could have who knows.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean yeah, like sometimes jobs and stuff and
Speaker 2: just put you in a situation that unfortunately could turn
Speaker 2: like this. But I always think it's smart when someone
Speaker 2: provides an address of where they're going.
Speaker 1: I agree. Now, I'm not too sure exactly on when
Speaker 1: the missing person's report was filed, but it would be
Speaker 1: the next day, on March twenty six, two thousand and seven,
Speaker 1: just one day after she was last seen and went
Speaker 1: to the meeting with Tatsuya. That the police went to
Speaker 1: his apartment. When they arrived and knocked on the door,
Speaker 1: they were greeted by Tatsuya, who opened the door. However,
Speaker 1: upon him realizing that the police were there to investigate,
Speaker 1: he quickly fled the scene barefoot, managing to escape despite
Speaker 1: the presence of several officers.
Speaker 2: Well, they weren't expecting that, No, they weren't. Holy shit,
Speaker 2: and obviously, like that's some serious suspicion right there right there. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that just run.
Speaker 1: I agree. That also plays a huge part in this case.
Speaker 1: So upon the police entering the apartment looking for Lindsey,
Speaker 1: they managed to make a grim Discovery. Lindsay's body was
Speaker 1: found in a bathtub on the balcony. The bathtub was removed,
Speaker 1: I'm presuming it's like a claw foot bathtub style or
Speaker 1: something was removed and put onto the balcony. Her body
Speaker 1: was then laid in there and buried under a layer
Speaker 1: of sand and compost. It was his attempt to conceal
Speaker 1: her body and mask any odors.
Speaker 2: Huh, that's a new one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2: Holy shit.
Speaker 1: Now, it also could be a different style of bathtub,
Speaker 1: because I know in Japan there's a lot of like
Speaker 1: small apartments and stuff, and so there's like collapsible bathtubs
Speaker 1: and like a lot of like different different living style
Speaker 1: gadgets and things. So I don't know if it's a
Speaker 1: claw foot bathtub specifically, but a tub of some sort
Speaker 1: that is, quote a bathtub she was found in.
Speaker 2: Would that work? I don't think that would work. What
Speaker 2: do you mean, Like, it wouldn't conceal odor and like
Speaker 2: the body, I.
Speaker 1: Imagine it would be supposing it would conceal a fair
Speaker 1: bit of odoor. Yeah, I imagine I could be wrong.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying it would be perfect, but I imagine it
Speaker 1: would mask quite.
Speaker 2: A bit interest better than having that's brutal, a.
Speaker 1: Decomposing body just laying in your bathroom, I.
Speaker 2: Guess, but like I mean, I'm just visualizing to like
Speaker 2: someone else's balcony is like right beside, right, Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1: So No, I don't think it was something that he
Speaker 1: would have gotten away with for long term, but at
Speaker 1: least it was a temporary solution that he was looking at.
Speaker 1: What he planned on doing after that, who knows.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 1: So, once her remains were uncovered, Lindsay's body showed signs
Speaker 1: of a brutal assault that had occurred the night before.
Speaker 1: She had been bound and gagged, and there were clear
Speaker 1: indications of physical trauma. The forensic examination later revealed that
Speaker 1: she had been violently sexually assaulted and beaten before finally
Speaker 1: being strangled to death.
Speaker 2: What an absolute piece of shit.
Speaker 1: I agree. Holy And a media and intense investigation, of
Speaker 1: course took place, and the police launched a massive man
Speaker 1: hunt for Tetsuya Ichihashi, and this would become a two
Speaker 1: and a half year long manhunt, one of the most
Speaker 1: intense and high profile ones in Japanese history.
Speaker 2: He literally got what two and a half years.
Speaker 1: He was on the run, maybe and a half two.
Speaker 2: Weeks or something. Two days. Nope, gosh, okay, I'm actually okay,
Speaker 2: that's like making me angry here, I'm a little a
Speaker 2: little angry about this.
Speaker 1: Well, in the intro, what did I say in the intro? Exactly?
Speaker 2: I don't know. I can't remember.
Speaker 1: Back to then, the following manhunt would keep the perpetrator
Speaker 1: running for years and seeking out extreme measures to hide
Speaker 1: their identity.
Speaker 2: Okay, well, I think that in the intro you lost
Speaker 2: me when you said something about someone buried in a bathtub.
Speaker 2: After that I heard nothing.
Speaker 1: Okay, fair enough, fair enough.
Speaker 2: But yeah, honestly, that's because like they had him. They
Speaker 2: had him, they did so that's why that's just like
Speaker 2: such a pissof.
Speaker 1: But the thing is, they weren't suspecting anything at that time.
Speaker 1: It was like, hey, when was the last time have
Speaker 1: you seen lindsay?
Speaker 2: Oh? Okay, So if he had like just played it
Speaker 2: cool or whatever, they may not have even gone and
Speaker 2: searched his apartment.
Speaker 1: At They might not have. I mean, honestly, I don't
Speaker 1: think they would have been able to search his apartments.
Speaker 1: They wouldn't have had a warrant. Yeah, I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't know what it's with laws are specifically in Japan,
Speaker 1: but I'm assuming it's going to be something along those
Speaker 1: similar lines, because you know, people have rights. Yeah, so
Speaker 1: maybe he was like, oh no, like she left at
Speaker 1: this time or something. Maybe that would have been the case,
Speaker 1: but I don't know. If that would have been too
Speaker 1: long that that occurred, he wouldn't have gotten away with
Speaker 1: it still, right, it was probably turned around and come
Speaker 1: back in another day or two with a search warrant.
Speaker 1: Who knows what.
Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, but.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Now. The case quickly gained widespread media attention in
Speaker 1: Japan and internationally as well, partly do to the brutal
Speaker 1: nature of the crime and Lindsay's status as a foreigner
Speaker 1: living in Japan. The immediate search by police was extensive,
Speaker 1: focusing on locations where Tatsuya was known to frequent. The
Speaker 1: police received numerous tips from the public, but many of
Speaker 1: these leads turned out to be false or inconclusive. I
Speaker 1: do like to like, we've covered cases before where we
Speaker 1: have a lot of tips coming from the public, some
Speaker 1: of them inconclusive or false or whatever. I don't care
Speaker 1: if false tips are coming in. I mean that sucks,
Speaker 1: it kind of bottles it up. But I don't think
Speaker 1: majority of them are probably not real false tips. It's like,
Speaker 1: oh I think that's him. Oh no, it's a mistaken
Speaker 1: sort of thing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they could legitimately think that's them.
Speaker 1: But I love the effort that comes in from the
Speaker 1: public when the police received numerous tips, Like, fucking love
Speaker 1: it so much.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, there's been like lots of cases, and you
Speaker 2: know it solves them.
Speaker 1: Yeah it does. It could be that key thing that
Speaker 1: solves the case. And spoiler alert, the public kind of
Speaker 1: did solve this, Okay, So yeah, no, it's tips coming
Speaker 1: in and all that sort of thing was a massive
Speaker 1: role in this case. There's so many pieces to cases,
Speaker 1: of course, but this one, it's like every piece played
Speaker 1: such a big role, and without the effort on every portion,
Speaker 1: it would not have happened. But we'll touch on that still. Now.
Speaker 1: The intense media coverage of the case help keep it
Speaker 1: in the public eye, leading to a steady stream of information,
Speaker 1: but also making it difficult to discern these sort of things.
Speaker 1: I just kind of said that anyway, Sorry, that's what
Speaker 1: I happened.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: Tatsuoa's life on the run was consistently a series of
Speaker 1: calculated moves designed to avoid detection at all costs. In
Speaker 1: the months following his escape, he moved frequently, staying in cheap,
Speaker 1: transient accommodations and avoiding any place where he might attract
Speaker 1: any sort of attention. He lived a solitary and paranoid existence,
Speaker 1: constantly where he's being recognized or captured at any moment,
Speaker 1: always looking over his shoulder.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, and that's that must be like a pretty
Speaker 2: shitty way to live.
Speaker 1: Oh, I can only imagine.
Speaker 2: But I mean, yeah, I don't know if that would
Speaker 2: be worse or being in jail. Really, I don't know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I can tell you he deserves to be in
Speaker 1: fucking jail.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that much deserves more than that. Now.
Speaker 1: To finance his life in the run, he took on
Speaker 1: various low profile jobs that did not require identification or
Speaker 1: background checks. He worked as day labor, often in construction
Speaker 1: or manual labor roles, which allowed him to blend in
Speaker 1: or earn money to survive whatever he needed. Right, his
Speaker 1: lifestyle was extremely frugal and caution, ensuring that he left
Speaker 1: his little trace behind as possible. One of the most
Speaker 1: striking aspects of Tatsuya's time on the run was his
Speaker 1: efforts to change his appearance, understanding that his distinct features,
Speaker 1: you know, make him look recognizable just like any particular person. Right,
Speaker 1: there's wanted posters out there, there's news media printing like
Speaker 1: TV papers, magazines, you name it. So he took drastic
Speaker 1: measures to alter his looks. Over the course of his
Speaker 1: fugitive life. He underwent multiple plastic surgery procedures that were
Speaker 1: both painful and risky. Now. Initially, he attempted to change
Speaker 1: his appearance though through non surgical means. Grewed his hair
Speaker 1: a beard, altered his clothing style, wore glasses or a hat,
Speaker 1: obscuring his face. Now. These superficial changes, though, were not
Speaker 1: enough to keep him hidden indefinitely, especially as police continued
Speaker 1: to release updates, new wanted posters and descriptions to the public,
Speaker 1: constantly pushing. Just like the public's coming in constantly with tips,
Speaker 1: the police are constantly pushing, searching new updates consistently.
Speaker 2: You know, I had never thought of this until you
Speaker 2: just told us this. But yeah, like, being able to
Speaker 2: grow facial hair changes how you look so drastically.
Speaker 1: Yeah, if I were to shave my beard, no one.
Speaker 2: Would fucking recognize you.
Speaker 1: Nope, huh. If I shave my beard. If I took
Speaker 1: off my hat, shaved my beard, and went to the
Speaker 1: dollar store put on a pair of reading glasses, I
Speaker 1: bet you you wouldn't recognize me.
Speaker 2: I know, yeah, but I mean, like I guess I
Speaker 2: have longer hair. If I cut my hair, it might drastically,
Speaker 2: but it wouldn't drastically change my appearance to the extent
Speaker 2: of like a beard versus non beard.
Speaker 1: Well, a beard kind of covers half your face.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I never even thought of this.
Speaker 1: Yep. So recognizing the need though for more significant changes
Speaker 1: other than just a beard or whatever.
Speaker 2: Right, is that your plan why you have a beard?
Speaker 1: Maybe?
Speaker 2: Shit? Nice? Okay, sorry, I'm done.
Speaker 1: When was there insurance policy?
Speaker 2: Up?
Speaker 1: I need to make sure we renew that.
Speaker 2: Gosh, dangause you were very quick. Yeah. If I went
Speaker 2: to the dollar store, you know, got this, like, no
Speaker 2: one would know who I was.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying I haven't hypothetically thought in the situations
Speaker 1: I have we do true crime for.
Speaker 2: Like profession here, It's true.
Speaker 1: It's something that your mind wanders and thinks about. Like
Speaker 1: we've had conversations even with friends, like hey, where would
Speaker 1: you hide a body? How would you get away? With it.
Speaker 1: These are things you just kind of talk about.
Speaker 2: I know. So, I mean, I'm sure there's some people
Speaker 2: that don't.
Speaker 1: Some people may not, that's true, that's true, But we
Speaker 1: definitely do. And I'm pretty sure the FBI listening through
Speaker 1: our computers and everything, looking at our search histories, just like,
Speaker 1: what the fuck We're on some sort of red list
Speaker 1: of radar. Yeah, anyways, we digress. He was wrecked. He
Speaker 1: was looking for more significant changes, so he eventually turned
Speaker 1: to plastic surgery. He started by actually performing some of
Speaker 1: the procedures on himself, using rudimentary tools and methods to
Speaker 1: modify his facial features. These self administered surgeries including cutting
Speaker 1: and stitching part of his face to alter the shape
Speaker 1: of his nose and eyes.
Speaker 2: Holy shit, I don't even know how you go about that.
Speaker 1: So by the sounds of it to me, like think
Speaker 1: like cutting like a line underneath your eye or something
Speaker 1: and then stitching it tighter, things like that, lifting your
Speaker 1: eyebrows that way, you know, maybe cutting out a little
Speaker 1: triangle of skin and then stitching it close to lift
Speaker 1: Like that's kind of what I envision. Wow, So he
Speaker 1: was he was doing what he could. The results, of course, though, were.
Speaker 1: They're pretty crude. He's just doing this in like a
Speaker 1: fucking bathroom at a gas station or something. Yes, right,
Speaker 1: so they're pretty crude and often left them in quite
Speaker 1: severe pain, but they were successful and making them less recognizable,
Speaker 1: though not not unidentifiable. Okay, So still, Tetsuya realized a
Speaker 1: professional surgery was necessary and it would provide more effective results,
Speaker 1: so he sought out underground clinics and unlicensed practitioners willing
Speaker 1: to perform the surgeries without asking any questions.
Speaker 2: Wow, just everything fucking exists, doesn't it.
Speaker 1: Oh? Yeah, everything. I'm sure if you're willing to pay
Speaker 1: for it, I'm sure you can find it somewhere out
Speaker 1: there in the which is horrible to think about.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no kidding. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So these underground operations, though of course, are dangerous for him,
Speaker 1: often resulted in complications, but they did allow him to
Speaker 1: significantly alter his appearance even further. He had his nose
Speaker 1: rey shaped, his eyelids altered, and various other modifications to
Speaker 1: his face. Now, through this man hunt, the Japanese police
Speaker 1: maintained a high level of pressure. That pressure I mentioned already,
Speaker 1: They continued it. They consistently updated the public with new
Speaker 1: information and appealed for assistance in locating him. The media
Speaker 1: also played a crucial role in keeping the case in
Speaker 1: the spotlights. They're constantly bringing to the forefront. If you
Speaker 1: see anything, this is his picture, you know, updates, whatever
Speaker 1: it is, They're constantly pumping it out. So yeah, and
Speaker 1: Lindsay's family even did interviews. They flew into Japan to
Speaker 1: do interviews, and there's reconstructions of the crime scene and
Speaker 1: even the escape done for the public to have information
Speaker 1: on this and everything. So the Hawker family, particularly Lindsay's parents,
Speaker 1: Bill and Julia Hawker, were instrumental in maintaining public interests
Speaker 1: and putting this pressure on authorities as well. Not only
Speaker 1: did they make just a trip to Japan to do
Speaker 1: some interviews, they made multiple trips to Japan doing interviews,
Speaker 1: press conferences, meeting with police, police officials, updating with them,
Speaker 1: putting on that pressure. Like I'm sure they were just
Speaker 1: flying to Japan, showing up at the station being like, so,
Speaker 1: how's things going, wow, putting that heat on.
Speaker 2: Well, and those poor people, like their daughter was so young.
Speaker 1: Exactly, So, their persistent efforts kept the case from fading
Speaker 1: into obscurity one hundred percent. It ensured that Tatsuya remained
Speaker 1: a priority for the police.
Speaker 2: Good. That's awesome of them, Like, I mean, they're grieving,
Speaker 2: but still like, you know, getting shit done.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So I also mentioned earlier, the public played a
Speaker 1: big part. Thousands of tips were eventually received across the
Speaker 1: time span, with sightings reporting from various parts of Japan
Speaker 1: all across the country, and police followed up every single
Speaker 1: credible lead, sometimes deploying large teams to search the specific
Speaker 1: areas as well. So as the man hunt progressed, the
Speaker 1: police began to narrow down their search based on patterns
Speaker 1: in these sightings, so they focused on areas where Tatsuya
Speaker 1: had been spotted multiple times and where his activity seemed
Speaker 1: to be most concentrated according to these sightings and tips.
Speaker 2: Was he staying in the same city.
Speaker 1: No, he wasn't staying in city. But Japan is a
Speaker 1: small place. Okay, yeah, so like it's Japan is a country.
Speaker 1: But I'm pretty like Japan is smaller than the province
Speaker 1: of British Columbia.
Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure, so hmm, okay, but I mean it's
Speaker 2: big population though.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yes. Now, this strategic approach gradually reduced the
Speaker 1: vast area that they actually needed to search across Japan.
Speaker 1: Being a small country. Still, like I said, that dense population,
Speaker 1: it's still vast in that sense, So narrowing it down
Speaker 1: in these in this way helped tremendously. Now, one of
Speaker 1: the key moments in the manhunt came when the police
Speaker 1: received information that to Tatsuya had been seen in Nagoya,
Speaker 1: a major city in central Japan. Further investigation on this
Speaker 1: tip revealed that he had been living in the city's
Speaker 1: homeless community, where he was easily able to avoid detection.
Speaker 1: Police were now concentrating their efforts on this city and
Speaker 1: began setting up surveillance and undercover operations to try and
Speaker 1: track him down. Finally, all the efforts would pay off
Speaker 1: Awesome Tatsuya Ichi Hashi was finally captured on November tenth,
Speaker 1: two thousand and nine, at the oak Osaka Faery terminal.
Speaker 1: He was attempting to board a faery in sorry a
Speaker 1: faerry to Okinawa when he was recognized by a fairy
Speaker 1: employee who had seen his updated wanted poster. The employee
Speaker 1: alerted the authorities that and Tetsuya was apprehended before he
Speaker 1: could even board.
Speaker 2: The fairy nice.
Speaker 1: The two year search had finally come to an end.
Speaker 2: What an effort like this is I just I mean,
Speaker 2: I love here, Like I don't love these stories, but
Speaker 2: I love when there's like such a significant effort yees
Speaker 2: to like get this guy, make him pay for what
Speaker 2: the fuck he did.
Speaker 1: And it's such significant effort in each area. The family
Speaker 1: kept pushing, the media kept pushing, the police kept pushing,
Speaker 1: the public kept pushing. Without any of those roles, this
Speaker 1: would probably not have come to fruition because he probably
Speaker 1: would have eventually been unrecognizable. I mean, if you look
Speaker 1: at his photo side by side, the two year gap,
Speaker 1: he to me is unrecognized.
Speaker 2: Really, yes, holy shit, Okay, I'm gonna have to.
Speaker 1: See this, Yes you are. But I mean there's there's
Speaker 1: some features there clearly where it's like, okay, yeah you
Speaker 1: can you can piece it together, and clearly some people
Speaker 1: were still able to see it. But yeah, if only
Speaker 1: given more time, it just would.
Speaker 2: Have gotten yeah, holy and then he would have been
Speaker 2: a free man.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So without that push on all fronts, this probably
Speaker 1: would be an unsolved case.
Speaker 2: Well then also too, I just had this thought, like,
Speaker 2: without this immense pressure for him to be like he
Speaker 2: had this focus on how having to change himself right
Speaker 2: in his appearance and stuff. I feel like if he
Speaker 2: didn't have that, he would probably be doing a bunch
Speaker 2: of other bad shit. Oh probably right, in harming other people.
Speaker 1: Probably So. Tatsuya's capture was a culmination of all these efforts,
Speaker 1: of course, but finally they brought him to justice. So
Speaker 1: following his arrest, he was subjected to extensive interrogation by police.
Speaker 1: Initially he was evasive and uncooperative, but by the way
Speaker 1: to the evidence against him, he eventually made a partial confession.
Speaker 1: He admitted to assaulting Lindsay, but he claimed her death
Speaker 1: was accidental.
Speaker 2: Oh gosh.
Speaker 1: Despite his claims, Tatsuya ichi Hashi was charged with Lindsay's murder,
Speaker 1: sexual assault, and confinement. His trial began in July of
Speaker 1: twenty eleven. Now, the trial was highly publicized, drawing significant
Speaker 1: media attention both in Japan and internationally, and the courtroom
Speaker 1: was filled with journalists, legal experts, and members of the public,
Speaker 1: all eager to see justice finally be served. So on
Speaker 1: July fourth, twenty eleven, at the opening of his trial
Speaker 1: at the Chibia District Court, Tatsuya ichi Hashi addressed Lindsay
Speaker 1: an Hawker's family directly. In a highly emotional moment, he
Speaker 1: walked into the courtroom and bowed deeply towards Lindsay's parents,
Speaker 1: Bill and Julia Hawker, who were present in the courtroom.
Speaker 1: This act of bowing, which is a traditional Japanese gesture
Speaker 1: of apology and respect, was his attempt to show remorse
Speaker 1: for his action and to seek forgive forgiveness from Lindsay's
Speaker 1: grieving family. The Hawker family, of course, had mixed reactions
Speaker 1: to this gesture. While some might interpret the bow as
Speaker 1: a sincere expression of regret, Lindsay's parents were primarily focused
Speaker 1: instead on achieving justice for their daughter. They maintained their
Speaker 1: dignity and composure throughout the trial, and reports show that
Speaker 1: anytime Tetsuja bowed towards them, they did not face him,
Speaker 1: showing that they did not accept whatever apology he was
Speaker 1: attempting to make.
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah, that's actually really tough, because I don't know.
Speaker 2: I mean, there was a difficult different culture, and bowing
Speaker 2: like means more significance over there. But gosh, I don't know,
Speaker 2: that would be hard. I'm having trouble like that would
Speaker 2: be hard. I'm glad they stood their ground because I
Speaker 2: don't feel like he deserves the forgiveness. Ah, that's so
Speaker 2: hard though.
Speaker 1: I have one one response to the parents reaction to
Speaker 1: this bow.
Speaker 2: Yeah, because why should he feel better for his actions
Speaker 2: and what he did? Like, he agreed he took their
Speaker 2: daughter away.
Speaker 1: So he can be remorseful as what he wants, he
Speaker 1: wants to, He can apologize as much as he wants to.
Speaker 1: They can accept the apology as much as they want to.
Speaker 1: All of that is totally fine by me. It doesn't
Speaker 1: change anything.
Speaker 2: It doesn't bring Lindsay back.
Speaker 1: And them not acknowledging it, I think, is a reminder that.
Speaker 2: It doesn't change Yeah. So yeah, wow.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 1: The prosecution presented a very compelling case in the courtroom.
Speaker 1: One of the key pieces of evidence was the testimony
Speaker 1: of forensic experts who examined the crime scene and of
Speaker 1: course Lindsay's body as well. Their analysis revealed that Lindsay
Speaker 1: had been subjected to a prolonged violent attack. Ultimately, she
Speaker 1: succumbed to the struggle and had been exphyxiated. Marx and
Speaker 1: her body indicated she had been sure sorry. Marx and
Speaker 1: her body indicated she had struggled fiercely, suggesting that a
Speaker 1: deliberate and sustained attempt to sedue her occurred, and the
Speaker 1: presence of Tatsuya's DNA at the scene and on Lindsay's
Speaker 1: body showed his potential motivation. The autopsy also ultimately helped
Speaker 1: point towards premeditation. The prosecution argued that Tatsuya had planned
Speaker 1: the attack. His efforts to conceal Lindsay's body in a
Speaker 1: bathtub filled with sand and compost demonstrated a clear intention
Speaker 1: to hide the crime, which indicated this premeditation. Also, Tatsuya's
Speaker 1: actions following Lindsay's death, including his escape and prolonged division
Speaker 1: from the police. As we mentioned when he ran out initially,
Speaker 1: this is a key part of it. They were used
Speaker 1: to illustrate his consciousness of guilt, His drastic measures excuse me.
Speaker 1: His drastic measures to alter his appearance to plastic surgery
Speaker 1: further supported this guilt argument. Tatsuya's defense attempted to argue
Speaker 1: that Lindsay's death was the result of a botched attempt
Speaker 1: to restrain her and that he did not intend to
Speaker 1: kill her. Despite the defense's attempt to downplay the actions
Speaker 1: of Tatsuya, no one was buying it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know about that, because what so what
Speaker 2: he was going to do these terrible things to her
Speaker 2: and then watch just let let her go, let her go?
Speaker 2: Yeah right, so that doesn't I don't know that's going.
Speaker 1: To be the case.
Speaker 2: This is just brotal. It is holy shit.
Speaker 1: I think my voice is just getting raspier. Sorry, I'm
Speaker 1: apologizing to you guys right now. We're gonna get through this.
Speaker 1: We're almost there.
Speaker 2: You're doing good. Like that's a hard place to be in.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we already turned the show off for a moment
Speaker 1: once because out of coughing. But anyways, moving on. In
Speaker 1: July of twenty eleven, tatsu Itchi Hashi was found guilty
Speaker 1: good all charges and was sentenced to life in prison.
Speaker 2: Okay, yep, I mean that's deserved.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what I wanted to hear. When I was
Speaker 1: researching this case. I'm like, you'd better be fucking behind bars.
Speaker 2: Is there a fucking butt? I feel like you're about
Speaker 2: to say some like a butt?
Speaker 1: Well, I mean everyone has a butt.
Speaker 2: Well you know what I mean? That like something happens, Well, let.
Speaker 1: Me tell you. The aftermath of Lindsay Ann Hawker's case
Speaker 1: saw a profound impact on both her family and the
Speaker 1: broader community. Her parents, Bill and Julia Hawker continue to
Speaker 1: honor Lindsay's memory through advocacy by raising awareness about the
Speaker 1: safety of immigrants. The case prompted increased dialogue about the
Speaker 1: protection and support of foreign nationals in Japan. Tatsuya is
Speaker 1: currently held in the Chiba Prison, a high security facility
Speaker 1: known for housing serious offenders. He reportedly spends his days
Speaker 1: in reflection, expressing remorse through his actions, through written work,
Speaker 1: and attempting to seek some form of atonement for the
Speaker 1: brutal crime he committed of taking the life of Lindsay
Speaker 1: and Hawker.
Speaker 2: Okay, there's no butts.
Speaker 1: There's no butts.
Speaker 2: I was reading you wrong because I was like, good God,
Speaker 2: there can't.
Speaker 1: Be There's no butts, no if ens or butt. But no.
Speaker 1: He was found guilty. He did the crime. He is
Speaker 1: doing the fucking time he deserves, and even when he
Speaker 1: gets out, not only will he fucking have that guilt
Speaker 1: feeling on the inside every time he fucking looks in
Speaker 1: a mirror for the rest of his life, he's gonna
Speaker 1: see those fucking scars on his face that remind him
Speaker 1: of Lindsey and what he fucking did brutal.
Speaker 2: You know. And it also I just feel like that
Speaker 2: she wasn't the first one either for some reason.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I mean, well, he had a violent like past, right,
Speaker 2: so maybe he's done other things, maybe not necessarily killed somebody,
Speaker 2: but definitely changed someone's life.
Speaker 1: Yeah, potentially. And I don't know the extent of his
Speaker 1: quote like violent tendencies, I'm not too sure, but he
Speaker 1: definitely we do know he seemed to follow around foreign
Speaker 1: individuals into Japan, so he's looking at, you know, whoever's
Speaker 1: coming in and this has following around and being very
Speaker 1: pushy towards him. Maybe this was the first that he
Speaker 1: got pushy. If it was, that's that is a pretty
Speaker 1: extreme jump, especially considering that we're pretty sure the moment
Speaker 1: that door closed is when the attack occurred.
Speaker 2: And here she was just wanting to help someone, you know,
Speaker 2: like better themselves, right, you wanted to learn and yeah,
Speaker 2: she was.
Speaker 1: In Japan because she wanted to go travel the world,
Speaker 1: and she was talking to him because she wanted to
Speaker 1: teach people.
Speaker 2: Yeah, what a loss. That is a that's a big
Speaker 2: time loss. I feel like for this world totally.
Speaker 1: It is. So that is a case of Lindsay and Hawker.
Speaker 3: Mm hmm, yeah, well well done, thank you and impressive
Speaker 3: that she got through that with a cold, because that's
Speaker 3: that's not easy.
Speaker 1: It's not really a cold, not sniffing, it's just my throat.
Speaker 2: Yeah, generally it's me. I feel like that has lost
Speaker 2: their voices in the past for cases.
Speaker 1: I think so. I think this is the first time
Speaker 1: I've actually been like having voice issues on the podcast.
Speaker 2: Every time I get sick, I always lose my voice.
Speaker 2: Here's like to hoping that I don't catch whatever the
Speaker 2: hell you had.
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure I got it from you.
Speaker 2: I don't see how Miami system is. Shit, it's like garbage.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but I'm what do I do all day? I
Speaker 1: just sit at home all day doing research. I barely
Speaker 1: leave our tiny home. You're the one who goes out
Speaker 1: with clients, Dan your photography. Shit, I'm pretty sure you
Speaker 1: went out in public brought it home to me.
Speaker 2: I don't know.
Speaker 1: It just got me sick.
Speaker 2: Maybe you got it while we were away, but you
Speaker 2: still have gotten something from when we were away.
Speaker 1: I don't think so. Okay, I really don't think so.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I don't think it was me because it was me,
Speaker 2: I'd be sick too.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Fair. Anyways, if you guys enjoy this episode, we
Speaker 1: really appreciate you staying here, and we want you to
Speaker 1: give us a rating that we'd appreciate that in return,
Speaker 1: give us a five star, one star, whatever you feel
Speaker 1: is appropriate. If you want to check out our links
Speaker 1: all in the description of this podcast, they're all down there.
Speaker 1: We are slowly getting caught up, and I'm expecting with
Speaker 1: the next week or two we will be fully caught
Speaker 1: up with putting video podcasts on our YouTube channel, so
Speaker 1: you can see Nicole's reaction and me doing tan jeess
Speaker 1: to the camera and yeah, it's all there on YouTube,
Speaker 1: so you can go check it out.
Speaker 2: Yeah you do. I actually do hand gestures too.
Speaker 1: I feel like you do hand gestures when you're trying
Speaker 1: to open a can for like ten fifteen seconds and
Speaker 1: you're really struggling.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that would be interesting to watch.
Speaker 1: That's going to go on YouTube for sure.
Speaker 2: Please, no, yes, any any well, anywell, well, any good
Speaker 2: job you need to like, you know, have crossed my
Speaker 2: voice of sorts.
Speaker 1: I'm going to go make a like a nice warm
Speaker 1: tea or something.
Speaker 2: I didn't pick up any more. Ginger though, dude.
Speaker 1: That's we got regular to okay, Okay, I don't have
Speaker 1: to have like some ginger concoction just to tea is fine.
Speaker 2: One second, okay, when we're okay, we're done, when we're ill.
Speaker 2: This is like such a nice thing I make this drink.
Speaker 2: It's I usually do like half a lemon, like lemon juice, sorry,
Speaker 2: and then a teaspoon or so of honey, and then
Speaker 2: I put a chunk of like raw ginger in there,
Speaker 2: like with warm hot water or whatever, and it like
Speaker 2: actually is quite nice.
Speaker 1: I do recommend you treat that chunk of ginger like
Speaker 1: a tea bag, though, take it out after a while,
Speaker 1: because that ginger gets.
Speaker 2: See I love ginger. When I make that for myself,
Speaker 2: I can barely fucking taste the ginger.
Speaker 1: Like I love ginger too, don't get me wrong. But yeah,
Speaker 1: when I'm like halfway through my tea, it's like, oh
Speaker 1: my god, nothing but ginger.
Speaker 2: Okay. See, I don't have that ever anyway. When I
Speaker 2: have sushi, I put all the ginger on there. It's
Speaker 2: damn good.
Speaker 1: I put all the with sabi on. When we get sushi,
Speaker 1: she takes the ginger. I take it with sabi.
Speaker 2: Okay, if you made it this far, you're the real MVP.
Speaker 1: Yeah you are, no kidding. Okay, well we'll We'll talk
Speaker 1: to you guys next week, and until then, stay wicked.