Was Lucie Blackman ever found and did her parents get justice?

The recent Netflix documentary, Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case, has shocked viewers and many have been left looking for answers after watching the show.

A new documentary has shed light on a devastating case from over two decades ago about the abduction of a 21-year-old English woman, Lucie Blackman. The young woman was living in Tokyo, Japan and working as a hostess when she went missing on July 1, 2000. But what happened to Lucie, and did her parents finally get justice? Here's what you need to know about this case...

*Warning this article contains references to violence and sexual violence.*

What happened to Lucie Blackman?

In the documentary, it was revealed that Lucie Blackman was working as a hostess and agreed to go for dinner with a wealthy Japanese client, Joji Obara, before taking him to the club where she worked. As a hostess, this was part of her job and something that was expected by those who were ambitious and looking to earn more money. 

After having dinner with Joji, Lucie was never seen or heard of again and it was revealed in the documentary that she was murdered very soon after having dinner with her client. 

When her body was found several months after her disappearance, it was too decomposed to ascertain a cause of death. Her murderer had cut her into pieces and encased her head in concrete. It was later found at her murderer's indictment that he had drugged Lucie with a drink, raped her, and then killed her. 

Where is Joji Obara now?

Joji Obara was originally found not guilty of Lucie Blackman's murder. Lucie's disappearance opened up another similar case of Carita Ridgway who died in February 1992. It was discovered that Joji had drugged and raped Carita too, but dropped her at a hospital and left after claiming she had food poisoning. Carita was suffering from chloroform poisoning and her organs were failing. She was put on life support for a week before the machines were turned off.

A sample of Carita's liver proved many years after her death that she had been drugged with chloroform and Joji received a life sentence for manslaughter. In addition, eight victims bravely came forward to stand trial and support the case against Joji Obara.

Around 400 video tapes of Joji Obara assaulting women were found, including his rape of Carita Ridgway. However, any evidence of his attack on Lucie Blackman was either destroyed or wasn't created in the first place. 

An appeal from Lucie Blackman's family took place in April 2007. Lucie's family made their case stronger and in December 2008 Tokyo High Court ruled that Joji Obara, was guilty of abduction, dismemberment, and the disposal of Lucie's body. This meant that the life imprisonment he was already serving for Carita's death was now irreversible. 

Joji Obara is currently serving life sentences in prison, but the exact prison has not been disclosed to the press. In December 2010, Obara appealed his sentence and was rejected by The Supreme Court of Japan.

What happened to Lucie's parents Jane Steare and Tim Blackman?

After finally finding justice for Lucie's murder, Tim and Jane set up the Lucie Blackman Trust, LBT Global. The charity works to 'Provide families with information, liaison, advice and support throughout a missing person's case overseas'.  The website states, 'Every year we reunite many families with the loved one they feared they may never see again.'

Lucie's mother Jane remarried in 2003 and spoke out against her husband in 2007 when he accepted 'condolence money' from Obara's associates amounting to £450,000. Reportedly, most of the money received was used to fund the Trust in Lucie's name.