The best friend of Irish exchange student Nicola Furlong has given emotional testimony at the trial of her alleged murderer, Richard Hinds.
The Irish woman, who was not named, said she had come to Japan to “defend” Ms Furlong.
“She’s not here and can’t speak for herself,” she told the Tokyo District Court today. “I have to come and get justice for what happened.”
Speaking via a video link, the witness said she had been friends with Ms Furlong since school and they were studying together at a university outside Tokyo at the time of her death.
Recalling their trip to the city for a concert on May 23rd, she contradicted defence testimony that they had approached Mr. Hinds and his friend, James Blackston and invited them to go drinking.
“The men said we could stay at their hotel,” she said. “We strongly said ‘no.’ We have boyfriends and we didn’t want to stay with them.”
Mr. Blackston is on trial for sexually assaulting the second Irish woman in the back of a taxi on the night Ms. Furlong died. The verdict in that assault is due next week.
Asked why the women nevertheless accepted an offer by the men to show them a bar in the nightclub area of Shibuya, she said: “They were so friendly it didn’t feel dangerous at all. We were going to a public place. We had no intention of hanging around with these two men.”
The defence has tried to paint a narrative of heavy drinking during the fateful night, implying that this was a factor in the death of Ms. Furlong, who was found unresponsive at the Keio Plaza Hotel at about 3.25am on May 24th.
The witness said she blacked out after a second shot of tequila at the Scramble Café and Bar in Shibuya, but insisted it wasn’t in character. “I’ve never experienced unconsciousness when drinking,” she said. And I’ve never seen Nicola lose consciousness.”
She added: “The only reason I can think of is that he put something into my drink.”
Blood and urine samples taken from the two women have failed to support the theory that they were slipped so-called date-rape drugs, but the witness said the drugs could have been missed. “I believe there are a lot of drugs available and you have to test for each one.”
Mr. Hinds (19), who denies murder, stared at the floor for most of the testimony, looking up once to smile and acknowledge his mother and older brother, who were in court for the first time today. He was the only person in his hotel room at the time of Ms. Furlong’s death.
Repeatedly breaking down, she became distressed when asked by the court to describe Ms Furlong.
The witness said her friend was the “most kind, gentle and generous person I’ve ever met. She would always put everyone before herself. She had such a bright future… that she can’t have again.”
“I feel so angry that he took her away from me and her family, and he hasn’t taken any responsibility for the life that he took,” she added. Ms. Furlong’s mother Angela sat nearby, sobbing through the witness testimony.
The trial continues.
