Father of Lindsay Hawker calls for death sentence for Ichihashi+

CHIBA, Japan, July 11 Kyodo -
The father of Lindsay Hawker, a British woman killed in Japan in 2007, called Monday for Tatsuya Ichihashi, on trial for her murder and rape, to be sentenced to death.
William Hawker, 58, told the Chiba District Court that he seeks ''death'' for the 32-year-old defendant, after he was asked to clarify what he meant when he called during the previous session Friday for the ''maximum'' sentence available in Japan for the killing of his then 22-year-old daughter.
Hawker clearly said no after Ichihashi's defense lawyer asked him if the family wanted life in prison, which is the maximum sentence in their home country, where the death penalty has been abolished.
Lindsay's mother Julia, 54, who also attended the trial, shed tears as she told the judges, ''He (Ichihashi) took my daughter away, and I cannot understand why...''
She also said her family had no intention of receiving royalties from a book Ichihashi wrote. The book was published this January and describes the accused murderer's life on the run, which lasted about two-years and seven-months until his arrest in November, 2009.
Ichihashi is on trial for allegedly raping and murdering Hawker, an English language teacher, at his apartment in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, and dumping her body in a bathtub on his balcony in March 2007.
William and Julia Hawker arrived in Japan on July 3 with Lindsay's sisters to attend Ichihashi's trial. The trial verdict is expected on July 21.