Tim Blackman led a campaign to find his daughter Lucie, but what is he doing now?

‘Blind panic just crashes in on you’

9 months ago

The Lucie Blackman Case is Netflix’s latest true crime documentary and unfolds the disappearance of Lucie Blackman in Japan in 2000, and her father’s consistent campaigning for her.

Lucie went missing in 2000 and her body was found the following year after she was murdered by businessman Joji Obara. Lucie’s father was at the forefront of the campaign to find his daughter, and even flew out to Tokyo to help the search.

Tim Blackman is featured heavily in Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case on Netflix, allowing viewers to see the case through the lens of a parent, highlighting everything he did to help assist the Japanese authorities. Here’s everything we know about what Tim Blackman is doing now and his campaign for his daughter Lucie.

Who is Tim Blackman?

via Netflix

Tim Blackman is the father of Lucie Blackman and he flew out to Japan a week after Lucie was reported missing to help search for his daughter.

Lucie planned to live in Tokyo for a year and was working as a hostess before she was reported missing by friends after failing to return their calls or answer her door.

Tim ensured her name and disappearance was in every headline and news report, adding pressure on the Japanese authorities to find her.

Tim Blackman held press conferences, did interviews pleading for information about Lucie and offered rewards for any information people had.

When Joji Obara was acquitted of the crimes against Lucie, the Blackman family pushed for an appeal in 2008 and he was later jailed in December of that same year for abducting Lucie, dismembering her and disposing of her body.

What did Tony Blair do after meeting with Tim Blackman?

Former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, made a personal appeal to the people of Japan to come forward with any information in the search for Lucie Blackman after meeting with her father, Tim.

After meeting with Tim Blackman and his family, Tony Blair said: “It’s obviously an appalling, heartbreaking story, and every parent’s nightmare is to have their child working abroad and then disappear. What I have said is that we will do everything we can.

“We are working closely with the Japanese authorities here and obviously we appeal to people in Japan who may know about the case to come forward and give us some leads we can follow up.”

via Netflix

What is Tim Blackman doing now?

In 2018, Tim celebrated what would have been Lucie’s 40th birthday. Speaking ahead of her birthday, Tim said he didn’t feel anger, instead he felt “intense sorrow” when he thinks of his daughter’s killer, who he described as “just a monster”.

“In court he avoided looking in our direction. He was constantly in his papers or looking at his counsel. He approached it in a business-like way with files and papers which is kind of ridiculous,” he said at the time.

“Every day you think about what she’d be doing now, whether she would be married, whether I’d have grandchildren by her now. It leaves a constant chasm of emptiness when you lose someone young like that.

“The word memory doesn’t really work for Lucie, because it reflects to the past. Whereas I just think about her and she’s around us all the time. So many people would like to hear that you’re getting better.

“You hear this word closure. But it just doesn’t exist in these sorts of cases. The notion that you just shut the door on that part of your life just doesn’t happen. As a father you don’t want to put that burden down.”

Tim has since set up the Lucie Blackman Trust, which works to help young people be more aware of their safety, particularly when abroad.

Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case is available to watch on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.