THE family of murdered British teacher Lindsay Hawker have spoken of their relief after a Japanese court rejected an appeal by her killer.
Tatsuya Ichihashi, 33, was jailed for life last year for raping and strangling Miss Hawker, 22, at his flat in Japan in March 2007.
Miss Hawker's family, from Warwickshire, did not attend the hearing, but said: "We are relieved that the original decision was upheld and that Ichihashi's appeal was refused."
Ichihashi went on the run after Japanese police discovered the teacher's battered body buried naked in a sand-filled bath in Tokyo.
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