The Lucie Blackman Case on Netflix: What happened to Joji Obara and where is he now?

His life sentence became ‘irreversible’

9 months ago

Netflix has released a new true crime documentary, Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case, which follows the sinister story of a 21-year-old British woman who went missing in Japan in 2000, and was later found dead.

Lucie had previously worked as a flight attendant before deciding to live in Tokyo for a year. At the time of living in Japan, Lucie was working in a nightclub as a hostess, and part of her job involved going on dates with customers. After not answering any of her friend’s phone calls, she was reported as missing and her family flew to Japan and campaigned to find their daughter.

Unfortunately, in 2001, Lucie’s body was found and Joji Obara was accused of her murder. But where is Joji Obara now and was he found guilty in Lucie Blackman’s case?

Content warning: Distressing content including mention of rape, drugs and murder.

via Netflix

Who is Joji Obara?

Joji Obara is a serial rapist and murderer and was a Japanese businessman with Korean descent. Obara’s father was a property owner and businessman and so Obara had a privileged childhood from a private education to tutoring. Obara graduated from Keio University and inherited properties in Osaka and Tokyo following his father’s death.

After investing in properties, Obara went on to own assets at an estimated $38 million.

What happened to Joji Obara in Lucie’s Blackman’s case?

Joji Obara was initially accused of drugging, raping and killing Lucie Blackman. Lucie’s body was found in a cave, a few hundred metres from one of Obara’s properties. However, he was later acquitted. Obara was acquitted in April 2007 of Lucie Blackman’s rape and murder due to lack of evidence.

Obara was found guilty of multiple rape charges and the manslaughter of Australian model, Carita Ridgway, who he drugged with chloroform, which killed her in 1992. Prosecutors charged Obara with “rape resulting in deaht” in Carita Ridgway’s case, which included the rape of nine other women.

Some of the evidence in his trial included approximately 400 videos which showed him engaging in date rape.

This saw Joji Obara sentenced to life imprisonment.

via Netflix

Did the final veridct change in Lucie Blackman’s case?

Lucie Blackman’s case faced criticism due to a forensic evidence being absent from the initial trial. In March 2008, an appeal trial was held at the Tokyo High Court and in December of the same year, Obara was found guilty of the abduction, dismemberment and disposal of Lucie Blackman’s body.

The Supreme Court of Japan rejected Obara’s appeal in December 2010 and his life sentence became irreversible.

via Netflix

How was Joji Obara caught?

There was a wave of publicity surrounding Lucie Blackman’s case which led to three woman coming forward, describing waking up sore and sick in Obara’s bed with no memory of the previous night.

During the investigation, the police began to make connections between cases involving a man calling himself Joji Obara and Nishita. He was charged in 2000 with crimes against Lucie and Carita, as well as raping eight other women.

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.