New clue found in Briton murder hunt

Lucie Blackman's dismembered body was found in a cave

TOKYO, Japan -- A photograph believed to be that of murdered British woman Lucie Blackman has been found in a flat in Japan.

Local media said Japanese police found the camera film in the flat of Joji Obara who is suspected of killing the 22-year-old.

The undeveloped photograph is believed to have been taken the day she disappeared.

Blackman's dismembered body was found last week in a cave in Miura, 30 miles south of Tokyo, near another of Obara's properties.

She had been working as a hostess in a Tokyo nightclub when she disappeared during a day-trip to the Chiba coast, east of Tokyo, with an unidentified man.

The photo, which shows Blackman, from Sevenoaks, Kent, with sea in the background, was automatically dated by the camera as being taken on July 1, 2000.

On the day she went missing the former British Airways stewardess told a friend she was going to the seaside with a customer.

Obara was charged on Friday with raping and drugging an Australian woman in February 1992. She died of hepatitis 10 days later.

Parts of Blackman's body, including her head and hands, were found in a cave on a beach near the town of Miura, about 45km (30 miles) from Tokyo.

Police had been searching for her since last July when she disappeared after telling a friend she was going on a drive to the ocean with a client.

Police focused their search efforts on the Miura area after arresting Obara on charges of raping several foreign and Japanese women.

He has been charged with drugging and raping an Australian woman in 1992.

He also faces five charges in a series of rapes of Japanese and foreign women and has been questioned by Japanese investigators in connection with the disappearance of Blackman.

Obara has denied any involvement in Blackman's disappearance but has said he had drinks with her at the bar where she worked.

British Embassy in Japan
Japanese Police

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