Ichihashi’s Apology Letter

Tatsuya Ichihashi, who brutally raped and murdered English teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker in 2007, has sent an apology letter to the Hawker family:

“I was evil,” wrote Tatsuya Ichihashi, 31, The Times newspaper reported, citing a copy of the letter.
“There is no one to blame but me. I will take the responsibility. I will never forget about her and what I did to her and you. And I will carry my cross until the moment of my death.”

He wrote the letter, both in English and Japanese, to the parents and two younger sisters of Lindsay Ann Hawker, whose body was found in March 2007. Hawker, who was working as an English teacher in Japan, was 22.

Ichihashi repeatedly apologised in the letter, writing: “I am sorry. I am very sorry. I am very sorry. I am very sorry.”

“I not only destroyed her life but I also changed your lives. What I did to her and you will never be forgiven.”

The Hawker family has rejected the apology, seeing it as an obvious ploy to help Ichihashi get a lighter punishment when his murder trial begins next year. The pundits on ATV say there is a chance that Ichihashi really does feel remorse, but that the timing of the letter does make it seem like it’s meant to impact the trial.

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