A Tokyo court on Tuesday acquitted a Japanese real estate developer in the death and dismemberment of a British bar hostess, but convicted him of a series of rapes and sentenced him to life in prison, a news report said.Joji Obara, 54, was arrested in 2001 on charges of rape resulting in death of Lucie Blackman. He was also on trial over nine other rapes.
Tokyo District Court acquitted Obara of charges involving Blackman's death, but sentenced him to life for a series of rapes, Kyodo said. It was not immediately clear if rape victims under the conviction included Blackman.
Blackman, then 21, was working at a Tokyo night club in 2000 when she went missing after telling a friend she was going on a drive with a customer. Her dismembered body was discovered in a seaside cave in early 2001.
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