Man accused of Briton's rape and murder

Japanese police today added fresh charges of rape and murder against the suspect in the murder of a British language teacher whose body was found in a sand-filled bathtub more than two years ago.

Lindsay Ann Hawker was found dead in March 2007 on the balcony of an apartment in Chiba, east of Tokyo. She was an English teacher at a private language school and the apartment belonged to one of her students, Tatsuya Ichihashi.

Police arrested 30-year-old Ichihashi last month, initially on suspicion of abandonment of a body, instead of murder.

They today added the charges of murder and rape resulting in death against Ichihashi, according to police official Takeshi Otani.