Rapist cleared of Lucie Tokyo death

Dec 16 2008

A serial rapist has been found guilty of dismembering Briton Lucie Blackman in Japan and abandoning her body.

Millionaire property developer Joji Obara was acquitted of murdering and raping the bar hostess, who had been working at a Tokyo night club when she disappeared in 2000.

Tokyo High Court reportedly found there was insufficient evidence to convict him on these charges.

But Obara was handed a life sentence for a series of attacks on women.

The High Court went further on Tuesday than the lower court did in its 2000 conviction, ruling that Obara dismembered and abandoned Miss Blackman's body.

Miss Blackman, a former flight attendant, went to Japan in May 2000 and used her earnings to pay for trips around Asia.

Her remains were found near Obara's beachside condominium outside Tokyo in February 2001 following an extensive search.