Tokyo court hears evidence from night of Nicola’s murder

An Irishwoman has given evidence to a Tokyo court about her sexual assault and the rape and killing of exchange student Nicola Furlong earlier this year.

The woman, who was not named, was with Ms Furlong on the night she was strangled in an upmarket Tokyo hotel on May 24. A 19-year-old US musician has admitted strangling Ms Furlong but denied intent to kill.

His friend, James Blackston, 23, also a US citizen and described as a professional dancer, is on trial for “quasi-forcible indecency” after allegedly assaulting the witness in a taxi on the way to the Keio Plaza Hotel.