Ichihashi's Whereabouts - Rumours Of Suicide Persist

It has been 20 days¹ since the discovery of English teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker's body, but escaped murder suspect Tatsuya Ichihashi's whereabouts are still unknown. Even criminal investigators are now suggesting that the rumours of Ichihashi committing suicide may be true.

A reporter close to the case has commented on the current situation. "The most recent picture of Ichihashi was released to the public around April 3rd³, but there have been absolutely no leaks of new information from the police. The press had been anticipating an arrest, but there's been no progress. Out of frustration we finally asked 'Could he have committed suicide?' to which they wouldn't comment nor deny. There were also investigators⁴ that clearly stated 'Maybe the guy is already dead'."

Investigators have conducted a thorough search of Ichikawa City, Chiba but have turned up no clues. Nikkan Gendai also reported the rumours of Ichihashi hiding out in Osaka (see April 10th article), but Ichihashi's trail could not be traced there either.

"Eyewitness reports of a man matching the description of Ichihashi have come in from shops all over the Kanto region, but all the leads have turned up empty. When there are reports of a body being found, people chatter, asking 'Is it Ichihashi?'. The case is really at a dead end. The 50,000 yen he reportedly had in his possession must be almost gone by now. Some are beginning to label the case 'Unsolved'," said an informed source close to the Chiba prefectural police.

If Ichihashi has committed suicide and the case remains "Unsolved" after that brief moment police had Ichihashi before he slipped away, the Chiba police will lose all face and Lindsay definitely won't be able to rest in peace.


¹ 20 days as of the publication of the original Nikkan Gendai article, but 23 days as of Yahoo! Japan's syndication of it.
² ibid.
³ See info and images on the official Chiba Police site. There is also now a downloadable PDF file of the wanted poster (see April 10th article). Click on poster image to download a high resolution version.
⁴ As singular and plural nouns are often not clear in Japanese, it's vague whether it was one or more investigators that stated the possibility of Ichihashi already being dead.

Article Source: Yahoo! News Japan, April 17th 2007, 10am (Tokyo). Originally appeared in Nikkan Gendai, (text not available online).