Furlong accused: ‘I wasn’t there’

An American hip-hop dancer, being held in Toyko in connection with the death of college student Nicola Furlong, has claimed he wasn’t in the hotel room where she died.

James Blackston, of LA, was arrested along with a 19-year- old keyboard player who can’t be named for legal reasons.

The men have been charged with a sexual assault on Nicola’s friend, alleged to have taken place in a taxi on the way to the hotel. They also face questioning about Nicola’s death.

Speaking through his lawyer, Blackston said he never saw Nicola after she went into the room where she was found dead at the Keio Plaza Hotel.

Defence lawyer Tautomu Nakamura told a Sunday newspaper his client had admitted taking Nicola and her friend for a drink in the Shibuya district after a Nicki Minaj concert. He also admitted taking them back to his hotel but claimed he never went into the room where the 22-year-old Wexford woman was found.

Mr Nakamura said: “My client never went with her to the other man’s room. He has no idea what happened there. He never saw her after that.”

The two Americans have been charged with forcible indecency against Nicola’s friend. An autopsy report has indicated Ms Furlong suffered strangulation and was sexually assaulted.