Accused Killer's Book Says He Performed Plastic Surgery on Himself

TOKYO, Jan. 26, 2011— -- A new book released by a Japanese man accused of killing his British English language teacher reveals chilling details how he performed plastic surgery on himself and evaded capture for two and a half years.

In the 238-page book "Until the Arrest," released Wednesday by Gentosha publishers, Tatsuya Ichihashi admits to killing Lindsay Ann Hawker in 2007. There are no plans to translate the book.

The body of Hawker, 22, was found in a sand-filled bathtub on Ichihashi's apartment balcony east of Tokyo.

After his arrest Nov. 10, 2009, Ichihashi, 32, admitted assaulting Hawker but denied intentions to kill her.

"I was so scared that I ran away," Ichihashi wrote in the book. "I ended up hurting not only the victim, but also [the feelings of] many other people."

Ichihashi does not elaborate on a motive, but reveals how he managed to stay out of sight for so long.

He wandered around Tokyo before heading to the northern Aomori prefecture where he lived on the streets.

He toured temples on the southwestern island of Shikoku in hopes that Hawker would "come back to life."

His travels took him to a remote island off the southern prefecture of Okinawa four times where he lived on fruit, fish and snakes he caught.

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When Ichihashi wasn't traveling, he worked several construction jobs so he could pay for cosmetic surgery.

A surgeon raised the bridge on his nose and cut double folds into his eyelids to make Ichihashi look "more Western," he said.

The two procedures followed the suspect's own attempt at altering his face.