Lindsay Ann Hawker Murder

The family of Lindsay Ann Hawker said "wish was fulfilled" with sentencing of Tatsuya Ichihashi for the murder of the British teacher in Tokyo in 2007.

Ichihashi, 32, had pleaded guilty to raping and killing Miss Hawker in his apartment, but said he took her life accidentally while trying to stop her screaming.

Her father, Bill, last week urged the Chiba district court to show "no mercy" and demanded that Ichihashi be given the death penalty – a punishment usually reserved in Japan for cases of multiple homicide.

But speaking outside the court after the verdict he welcomed the sentence of life in prison and said the family had waited a long time for justice.

"We have been waiting for this day for a long time. It has been four-and-a-half long years. Our only wish has always been to get justice for Lindsay and today, as a family, our wish has been fulfilled and we are very pleased with the outcome," he said in a statement.

The victim's father went on to thank the police for their efforts as well as the Japanese public "who remained vigilant and without whom we would not have been able to capture him."

Miss Hawker, from Brandon near Coventry, was 22 years old when her body – naked and bound at the wrists and ankles with plastic cord – was found in the sand-filled bathtub on the balcony of Ichihashi's apartment.

Ichihashi testified that after raping her, he bound her and spoke with her for hours, seeking forgiveness. He says she choked to death when he covered her mouth to stop her from screaming for help but that he did not mean to kill her.

After the killing, Ichihashi went on the run for two and a half years, working in temporary jobs between Aomori in Japan's north and Okinawa island in the far south.

He used the money from odd jobs to pay for cosmetic surgery, altering his eyelids and nose and having a facial mole removed in an effort to evade police.

Ichihashi, whose wanted poster was a common sight at police stations and public offices across Japan, was caught in November 2009 after a witness tip-off at a ferry terminal as he tried to catch a boat to Okinawa.

He wrote a book entitled "Until the Arrest" about his life on the run and has offered the proceeds to the Hawker family, an offer they have declined.

The family was in Tokyo to hear the sentence being handed down. Miss Hawker's mother wiped tears from her face and nodded several times as she listened to the verdict.