The heartbroken father of Nicola Furlong says his pain is the same as 10 years ago – with her killer due to be released this month.
DCU student Nicola was murdered in a Tokyo hotel on May 24, 2012 after she and a pal had attended a Nicki Minaj concert earlier that evening. They had met American musician Richard Hinds and his friend, dancer James Blackston, after the gig when they asked for directions.
Both girls fell unconscious after the pair gave them spiked Tequila shots. Security cameras showed Hinds and Blackston ferry Nicola, 21, and her pal across the lobby of the Keio Plaza Hotel in the hotel’s wheelchairs and into a lift to a bedroom.
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Nicola was strangled in a hotel room by Hinds. Although Hinds was convicted of murder, legislation in Japan means he only has to serve 10 years in jail because he was 19 at the time of the killing and tried as a juvenile.
Now, with Hinds’ release imminent in a few weeks, Nicola’s heartbroken dad Andrew said there is “nothing I can do” about it. He told Cork’s 96FM: “It’s their law in Japan. He was charged as a juvenile but maybe they might keep him in longer.
“He has shown no remorse, no regret and didn’t even apologise for what he did.” Andrew said his pain at Nicola’s loss “is the same today as it was then... it’s every day”.
He recalled the morning in May 2012 when two gardai arrived at his home to break the tragic news. Andrew continued: “I screamed, I shouted. It couldn’t be. It had to be a mistake.
“How the hotel allowed them up to the room with the girls I don’t know. The girls were unconscious and instead of bringing them to hospital they brought them to a hotel room.
“Nicola woke up and fought. I tried to sue the hotel but the law there says I can’t. It wasn’t for the money. It was to make a show of the hotel.”
He also said that those who spike women’s drink “to get something from them” are sick-minded people. Andrew added: “If you have to drug a woman to get something from them there is something seriously wrong with you.”
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