The son of wealthy physicians - his father is a surgeon and his mother a dentist - he lived in the Tokyo apartment where Miss Hawker died in March 2007 by himself, studying horticulture at Chiba University.
Described by the few friends he had as an excellent athlete, particularly in long-distance running, Ichihashi generally kept to himself. His neighbours at the Gyotoku Sunrise apartment block said he was never any trouble.
The only time they did remark on something out of the ordinary was the night when there was hammering in the apartment.
That, it turned out, was Ichihashi ripping the bathtub out of the bathroom and transferring it to his balcony where he buried Miss Hawker's body.
Police investigating the British teacher's disappearance found piles of manga comic books, many containing graphic cartoon images of sex and violence, in his flat.
Officers quickly built up a profile of Ichihashi - a physically strong young man who had developed an almost instantaneous obsession with Miss Hawker.
The investigation revealed that Ichihashi first approaced the English woman on a street in front of Nishi-Funabashi Station on March 21 and struck up a conversation.
He ran after her as she cycled to the nearby apartment that she shared with two other teachers.
Ichhashi gained Miss Hawker's confidence by discussing biology, which she had studied at Leeds University before moving to Japan, and convinced her to give him English lessons.
What she did not know was that Ichihashi had a previous brush with the police and received a caution for stalking a female university student and taking £55 (Y10,000) from the coffee shop where she worked.
Ichihashi spent two years and seven months on the run, detailing his experiences in a book he wrote titled “After I Was Arrested.”
In the book, Ichihashi wrote that he wished that Miss Hawker could "come back to life."
He worked on construction sites in Osaka, where he lived in a dormitory but was notorious for not mixing with the other staff, and spent his free time studying languages.
Terrified that he was going to be identified, Ichihashi tried to change his looks. He removed two distinctive moles from his cheek with a box cutter, sliced off part of his lower lip with a pair of scissors to make it appear thinner and changed the shape of his nose by sewing it with a needle and thread.
In total, he spent around £7,705 on cosmetic surgery at different clinics.
He also travelled to the tiny island of Oha, where he lived in a concrete bunker, living on wild fruit, fish that he was able to catch and cook over an open fire. He even ate snakes.
Police were tipped off about Ichihashi shortly after he underwent cosmetic surgery at a clinic in Nagoya to change the shape of his mouth. Just a few days later, on November 10, 2009, he was caught waiting to board a ferry to flee to Okinawa.
Described by the few friends he had as an excellent athlete, particularly in long-distance running, Ichihashi generally kept to himself. His neighbours at the Gyotoku Sunrise apartment block said he was never any trouble.
The only time they did remark on something out of the ordinary was the night when there was hammering in the apartment.
That, it turned out, was Ichihashi ripping the bathtub out of the bathroom and transferring it to his balcony where he buried Miss Hawker's body.
Police investigating the British teacher's disappearance found piles of manga comic books, many containing graphic cartoon images of sex and violence, in his flat.
Officers quickly built up a profile of Ichihashi - a physically strong young man who had developed an almost instantaneous obsession with Miss Hawker.
The investigation revealed that Ichihashi first approaced the English woman on a street in front of Nishi-Funabashi Station on March 21 and struck up a conversation.
He ran after her as she cycled to the nearby apartment that she shared with two other teachers.
Ichhashi gained Miss Hawker's confidence by discussing biology, which she had studied at Leeds University before moving to Japan, and convinced her to give him English lessons.
What she did not know was that Ichihashi had a previous brush with the police and received a caution for stalking a female university student and taking £55 (Y10,000) from the coffee shop where she worked.
In the book, Ichihashi wrote that he wished that Miss Hawker could "come back to life."
He worked on construction sites in Osaka, where he lived in a dormitory but was notorious for not mixing with the other staff, and spent his free time studying languages.
Terrified that he was going to be identified, Ichihashi tried to change his looks. He removed two distinctive moles from his cheek with a box cutter, sliced off part of his lower lip with a pair of scissors to make it appear thinner and changed the shape of his nose by sewing it with a needle and thread.
In total, he spent around £7,705 on cosmetic surgery at different clinics.
He also travelled to the tiny island of Oha, where he lived in a concrete bunker, living on wild fruit, fish that he was able to catch and cook over an open fire. He even ate snakes.
Police were tipped off about Ichihashi shortly after he underwent cosmetic surgery at a clinic in Nagoya to change the shape of his mouth. Just a few days later, on November 10, 2009, he was caught waiting to board a ferry to flee to Okinawa.
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