Japanese killer loses final appeal in Lucie Blackman case
The Japanese man convicted of abducting and dismembering the British bar hostess Lucie Blackman is facing decades in prison after his final appeal was rejected.
Miss Blackman disappeared in 2000 while working as a hostess in the Roppongi district of Tokyo Photo: GETTY
By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo 7:00AM GMT 09 Dec 2010
Joji Obara, a convicted serial rapist and killer, is on his way to prison to begin his life sentence after a judge in Japan's Supreme Court ruled out the possibility of any further appeals.
The ruling marks the final chapter in a turbulent ten-year quest for justice by the family of 21-year-old Miss Blackman, a former British Airways stewardess from Sevenoaks in Kent.
Dismissing his appeal, the court upheld a life sentence for the abduction, dismemberment and disposal of Ms Blackman's body. The ruling also confirmed an earlier verdict that there was insufficient evidence to convict Obara of causing Miss Blackman's death.
Speaking after the ruling, her father Tim Blackman told the Telegraph: "It is disappointing that the Japanese prosecutors failed to get a conviction against Obara for causing Lucie's death , but nevertheless the unheralded announcement from Tokyo of the rejection of Obara's application to the Japanese Supreme Court for an appeal is very welcome.
"That Obara is now starting a life sentence for his terrible crimes against women over many decades and that it was Lucie who finally brought him to justice is a satisfactory overall result, and I feel justice has finally been served."
Miss Blackman disappeared in 2000 while working as a hostess in the Roppongi district of Tokyo. She went missing only months after her arrival in the city, sparking a high profile police hunt. The following February, Miss Blackman's dismembered body was discovered hidden in a seaside cave close to an apartment owned by Obara, a former property magnate.
Obara's final appeal is the latest twist in a protracted legal drama which began in 2002 when he went to trial charged with the abduction of Ms Blackman, rape resulting in death and the disposal of her body.
After he was initially cleared of the charges, an appeal by prosecutors in 2008 resulted in his conviction of the abduction and mutilation of Ms Blackman although there was insufficient evidence to convict him of murder.
In the most recent hearing, Obara, who already faces a life sentence for the murder of an Australian woman in 1992 and eight counts of rape, was launching a final appeal against the charges relating to Ms Blackman.
