アメリカ側のニュース。容疑者の家族側の対応が簡単に記されている。
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Memphis man, 19, accused of killing Irish exchange student in Japan
By Jody Callahan 、Memphis Commercial Appeal
Posted June 14, 2012 at 2:02 p.m., updated June 15, 2012 at 12:08 a.m.
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A 19-year-old Memphian has been arrested in Japan in the killing of an Irish exchange student.
Richard Hinds, a keyboard player who was touring with Japanese pop star AI, is accused of strangling Nicola Furlong, 23.
According to a report from the Irish Times newspaper, Japanese police said Hinds admitted strangling Furlong but said he wasn't trying to kill her.
Furlong was killed in a Tokyo hotel on May 24, after attending a Nicki Minaj concert in the city.
Hinds and another American arrested in the case, 23-year-old James Blackston, had been in custody for several weeks in the case.
Under Japanese law, suspects can be held for a considerable period of time as investigators build a case.
However, Blackston is no longer a suspect in the slaying, the newspaper said.
Police said security camera footage from the Keio Plaza Hotel shows Hinds arriving around 1 a.m., then using a hotel wheelchair to carry the unconscious Furlong to his room, the newspaper reported.
According to the newspaper, the footage confirms that nobody else entered the room until hotel staff went to check on Furlong a few hours later. She was rushed to a hospital but later declared dead.
Congressman Steve Cohen's office refused to discuss Thursday whether the family had reached out to the office for help.
Minister LaSimba Gray said he's been in touch with the Hinds family. "We did get (Cohen's office) to call the family and see what will be done," he said.
Hinds, a 2011 graduate of Central High, has no criminal record in Shelby County.
