Thread: American musician found guilty of murder of Irish student in Japan

5-10 years for murder- only considered a minor in japan cos he's under 20 ....


American musician found guilty of murder of Irish student in Japan - Telegraph

An American musician has been found guilty of the murder of Nicola Furlong, an Irish student, in Tokyo in May last year and sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison.






Richard Hinds, 19, of Memphis, Tennessee, was accused of killing 21-year-old Miss Furlong in his room at the Keio Plaza Hotel on May 24 after meeting the Wexford woman at a Nicki Minaj concert the previous evening.

Hinds had been with James Blackston, from Los Angeles, who was convicted last week after being caught on a security camera sexually assaulting Ms Furlong's friend when she was unconscious in the back of a taxi. Blackston, 23, received a three-year prison term.

Both women had suddenly and inexplicably fallen unconscious in a bar in the Shibuya district after agreeing to have a drink with Hinds and Blackston. Prosecutors claim the two women were drugged.

At the hotel, the two men borrowed wheelchairs to transport the two unconscious women to their rooms.

During the eight-day trial at the Tokyo District Court, prosecutors presented evidence that Hinds strangled Miss Furlong with a towel or a "strap-like object" after she regained consciousness.


A doctor told the court that the victim died "in great distress" after being strangled for several minutes.
Hinds had claimed that the drunk and sexually aggressive Miss Furlong had said she wanted him to squeeze her neck, which he did "lightly".
He described himself as "a gentleman" for doing as she had requested.
In victim impact statements to the court, Miss Furlong's sister, Andrea, 19, said Hinds should be sentenced to death.
"I want him to suffer," she said. "He took someone from us and ruined all our lives, so a life for a life."
Miss Furlong's mother, Angela, said said she did not want a death sentence for the man accused of her daughter's death, "But, given that the defendant has refused to take responsibility for what he did and has instead tried to blacken our daughter's name with lies, I feel the punishment should at least begin to reflect the pain he has caused."
The chief judge in the case agreed with that assessment, saying is his ruling that Hinds had shown "no remorse" and "tainted the honour of the victim."
Hinds was tried as a minor as Japanese law defines an adult as being 20 years of age. Ten years in prison is the maximum term Japanese law permits for a minor.




and earlier article

Nicola Furlong murder: Richard Hinds, 19, arrested as he confesses to strangling Irish student | Mail Online

American musician, 19, arrested as he confesses to strangling Irish student in Tokyo hotel room but insists he didn't mean to kill her

A 19-year-old American musician has admitted to strangling an Irish student in Tokyo last month but insists he didn’t mean to kill her.
Japanese police arrested Richard Hinds, from Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday on suspicion of murdering Nicola Furlong, 21, in a hotel room on May 24.
Police suspect that Hinds killed Ms Furlong after she refused his sexual advances, according to Jiji Press, a Japanese news agency.

Arrested: Richard Hinds, from Memphis, has admitted to strangling Irish student Nicola Furlong in a Tokyo hotel room on May 24, but insisted he did not mean to kill her. He has been arrested on suspicion of murder

Hinds confessed to pressing his victim’s neck with his hands but said he did not mean to kill her, the agency reported.


Hinds, who graduated from Central High School Memphis last year and moved to Japan in April to pursue his music career, was captured on CCTV wheeling the student to his room at the Keio Plaza Hotel in the city’s Shinjuku district at around 1am on May 24.
In the footage, Ms Furlong appears to be unconscious in the wheelchair. Police believe that her drink may have been spiked and are waiting on toxicology results.

Musician: 19-year-old Hinds, who has not been named under Japanese law, moved to Japan in April to pursue his music career

Hinds and James Blackston, a 23-year-old backing dancer, had already been arrested previously on suspicion of plying Ms Furlong and her 21-year-old Irish female friend with alcoholic drinks, and groping her inside a taxi.

Both men were charged with sexually assaulting Ms Furlong's friend.

Blackston, from Los Angeles, is not a suspect in Ms Furlong’s death. On social networks, Blackston brands himself the 'Kingtight Kingofdance'. The dancer claims he has appeared in music videos for stars such as the Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown and Jennifer Lopez.

Charged: James Blackston, 23, is charged with sexually assaulting Ms Furlong's friend, who is also a 21-year-old Irish student. He is not a suspect in Ms Furlong's death

Hotel staff discovered the young woman’s body in the early hours of the morning, after a guest complained about a loud noise from one of the rooms.
A hotel employee found Ms Furlong lying near the bed and Hinds was reportedly standing nearby.She was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead.
A source told Kyodo news agency that there were no signs that anyone else had entered the room. Japanese media have previously reported that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
Hinds had joined the world tour of a Japanese/American hip hop artist called AI with his older brother, reported the Irish Independent.

Victim: Ms Furlong, who was studying in Japan, was reportedly found unconscious in a hotel room with Hinds standing nearby after another hotel guest heard a loud noise. She was pronounced dead in hospital

Scene: Ms Furlong was found in a room in the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo. Hinds and Blackston were arrested at the scene, Hinds was re-arrested on Thursday on suspicion of murder

Hotel: The men took the women to the hotel in a taxi, where the alleged sexual assault took place

Hinds, who is being treated as a minor and is not named under Japanese law, is known as a Christian musician in the Memphis area.
Hours before Fulrong was found dead, she had attended a Nicki Minaj concert with her Irish friend, who was also studying in Japan.

The students then took a taxi with the two American men to the five-star hotel the men were staying in.
Ms Furlong, a business and language student at Dublin City University in Ireland had been living in the city of Takasaki, in the Gunma prefecture of Japan, around 100km north of Tokyo, Kyodo reported, citing sources in the Japanese police.

School: Ms Furlong was on a study abroad program at the Takasaki City University of Economics, pictured

She was on a one-year exchange programme and was due to return to Ireland this summer.
Nicola's father Andrew, mother Angie and sister Andrea were told of her death on Thursday morning. They are still struggling to come to terms with their horrific loss, according to friends.
In a statement last month her family said: 'We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful daughter / sister Nicola in such tragic circumstances.
'Nicola was a warm, generous, stunning person who always had time for her family and other people. Nicola will always be at the centre of our lives. She stood for everything that is good in life.'
Fr Jim Fitzpatrick from St Margaret’s Church in Curracloe, Ireland, said: 'The family are very upset and the fact it happened so far away and so unexpectedly is adding further to their grief.'

Concert: The two students had been to a concert for U.S. rapper Nicki Minaj before they met the men. It is not clear whether the suspects were performers with Minaj

If I was going to commit a crime in Asia, two places I would never consider it would be Japan or Singapore.

Beyond belief...R.I.P.

DK. Looks to me that the FUCKER got off lightly!

If that was my daughter, I would be waiting outside his cell for his release.

like the way he's throwing gang signs...... [at][at][at][at]!

Originally Posted by charleyboy

DK. Looks to me that the FUCKER got off lightly!

If that was my daughter, I would be waiting outside his cell for his release.

I agree. I was thinking more of the probability of getting caught than the severity of the sentences.

What an ugly cnut he is ! No wonder he has to drug them first. Nobody with half a brain would let him near them. Ugly animal.

RIP beautiful young lady

High powered rifle, dum-dum bullit, in the knackers......

Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton

If I was going to commit a crime in Asia, two places I would never consider it would be Japan or Singapore.

I would agree with that. But given that in japan all that has to happen is for the policeman to decide you are guilty, put you in front of a judge and your off to jail.
in the case of japan I would say its not so much "consider to comit a crime", "but be associated with a crime through geography or acquaintance".

no idea what conditions are like in japan prisions , but if you are a westerner killed there good luck getting justice.

Both the girls passed out in the club, at the hotel the two men borrowed wheelchairs to transport the two unconscious girls to thier rooms .... the hotel should be charged with something,,,

minor at 19 ??
should not allow under 20s to enter the counrty without an adult then

that pretty much ruines the japanese crime stats

If the killer does the entire stretch it will amount to serious, life-changing punishment. Not where I would want to have spent my 20's, but he deserves it. I'm curious as to why the other POS got only three years. Will try to look into it tomorrow.

Fuchu Prison Japan - Conditions [Archive] - Prison Talk

some interesting viewpoints after that article from westerners who have served time in that prison, most of them say that it is a good system and that it works, unlike the soft as shit western prisons. they say it is not unlike a strict marine camp.

the Keio Plaza Hotel

Has a reputation comparable to the Nana Hotel

I'm personally waiting for the Trevor Martin attorney to appear with the racist proclamation and police brutality claims.

I like the article on the Japanese prisons.

My favorite part

I was kept in this cell for three weeks and forced to perform menial labour, consisting of smoothing out the wrinkles in hundreds of aluminium cupcake doilies. Once I had finished smoothing out the entire carton the guard came to inspect my work. He reached into the box containing all the smoothed out doilies and crushed them all up again. I was told that I would have to do them over.

Boo hoo. It's prison.

When I arrived at the federal detention center in Los Angeles, I felt like I had died and gone to Disneyland. The difference in the two prison systems is incredible! The treatment I received in the American prison was humane and tolerable.

Yeah, U.S. has to work on that. If people are liking prison, it's not prison-y enough.

P.S
Just because you want to be a rapper, doesn'r mean you should be referred to as a 'musician'

This is why prison sentences in Japan are generally far shorter than in the US. I also know people who committed crimes in Japan for which they would likely have received hard time in the States but got off with time served in police custody and heavy fines plus restitution to victims. Prison is serious business in Japan. Unlike the US, being a gangbanger won't help- you won't be hanging with your buddies in slammer and terrorizing people who aren't in gangs. You won't be raped or beaten up by other inmates, and you won't be smoking dope or setting up stills, either. You'll have just enough food and exercise to survive, and any sense of freedom or individuality will be squashed. Prison is punishment- there is time set aside each day in which you are confined to certain area of your cell to think on your crimes. People dread prison in Japan, but not for the reasons some (but not all) people dread it in the US. While 10 years for a rape/murder may not sound like much, that young man is in for a long-term mind-fuck during what should have been the best years of his life. If somebody snuffs him when he gets out it is safe to say they'll be killing a very different person than the brash punk who went in.

Well, Rubozo, I hope you are correct because he deserves a max sentence IMHO.

Originally Posted by bushwacker

he deserves a max sentence IMHO.

According to the article he did receive the maximum punishment - apparently 'minors' can only be imprisoned for a maximum of 10 years

Originally Posted by blue

Hotel staff discovered the young woman’s body in the early hours of the morning, after a guest complained about a loud noise from one of the rooms.
A hotel employee found Ms Furlong lying near the bed and Hinds was reportedly standing nearby.She was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead.

Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer

I didn't read who discovered the body.

Hotel staff

Originally Posted by blue

Hinds, who is being treated as a minor and is not named under Japanese law, is known as a Christian musician in the Memphis area.

Well that worked out fine then

Originally Posted by Happy As Larry

Originally Posted by blue

Hinds, who is being treated as a minor and is not named under Japanese law, is known as a Christian musician in the Memphis area.

Well that worked out fine then

He'll be having plenty of quality time with Jesus then.