In Tokyo trial, US man denies killing intent

TOKYO (AP) – An American man accused of strangling an Irish exchange student in Tokyo told a Japanese court Monday he had no intention of killing the woman but acknowledged he was with her the night she died.

As his trial began, 19-year-old Richard Hinds of Memphis, Tennessee, denied intentionally suffocating Nicola Furlong last May 24. He acknowledged he and Furlong, 21, were in a hotel and said he lightly pressed her neck while the two had sex.

“I do not believe I was the cause of her death,” Hinds told the court. “I had no intent or reason to hurt, harm or kill her.”

Furlong came to Tokyo with a friend to see a concert the night she died. After the concert, the two met Hinds and another man, James Blackston, and went with them to a bar. Prosecutors allege Hinds and Blackston got the two women drunk and may have drugged them before taking them by taxi to a hotel in central Tokyo.

Furlong was later found unconscious in her room after another guest complained of a loud noise. She died after being taken to a hospital. The defence suggested she died of an overdose of alcohol and drugs.

Prosecutors say Hinds strangled Furlong with a towel and have charged him with murder. They say Hinds has shown no remorse and should be punished severely.