'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUH/8QAFAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABP/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAzSAGd//EABwQAAEFAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIBAwQFEQAVMf/aAAgBAQABPwClsIJUVszNjEb7ygjToiOtEm5i96Kr9Dv/xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABADH/2gAIAQIBAT8ANb//xAAVEQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAP/aAAgBAwEBPwBb/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Lucie Blackman's story will be described in detail in the upcoming Netflix true crime documentary titled Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case. The documentary movie will be released on Netflix on 26 July 2023. The true crime documentary portays the tragic events that occured in the life of Lucie Blackman, a 21-year-old British Woman who worked in the city of Tokyo in Japan.
Lucie's home was in Sevenoaks, Kent and she worked as a hostess. Prior to this job, she worked at British Airways as a flight attendant. She moved to Japan to see the world and earn money and repay her debts.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck when she went missing on July 1, 2000. Almost a year later in 2001, Lucie's dismembered corpse was recovered from a shallow grave in south of Tokyo. The predator was a man named Joji Obara. Joji was accused of sexually assaulting and murdering 150 to 400 women, during the course of his life. Apart from Lucie, an Australian woman named Carita Ridgway suffered the same fate.
Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case on Netflix: 3 key things to know before documentary premieres
1) Lucie's arrival in Tokyo
Lucie Blackman and her friend Louise Phillips arrived in Japan to make a change in their monotonous lives. They had quit their jobs back at home and longed for a new adventure in a foreign county. Both women arrived with a 90-day visa in May, 2000.
They initially worked as flight attendants for British Airways but soon began working in a bar in the affluent Roppongi district. Not only did the women serve drinks and carry out general hostessing duties, but they were also required to go on 'dōhan' (paid dates) every month. On July 1, 2000, Lucie was last spotted with a paying customer.
2) The search for Lucie
A day after Lucie disappeared, her friend Louise Phillips received an uncanny call from a man named Akira Takagi. Takagi informed Phillips that her friend had joined a religious cult and was busy with her training. He also informed her that she would never see her friend again.
A horrified Louise called her friend's family at once in the UK and informed them about the whole situation. The missing's older sister, Sophie Blackman and father eventually arrived in Japan. Lucie's father Tim Blackman held a high profile press conference after 12 days following the former's disappearance. The primetime news in Japan was covering everything about this. Tim distributed 30,000 leaflets of missing person (Lucie Blackman) with the help of Sophie.
3) The discovery of a horrific tragedy
Unfortunately, on February 9, 2001, the investigators discovered the dismembered corpse of Lucie. Lucie's remains were found buried in a shallow grave in Miura, Kanagawa. This place was 50 kilometers from the city of Tokyo, however, the culprit, Joji Obara, lived just a few meters from where her body was recovered.
The victim's body had been cut into 10 pieces and put into separate bags. Her head was shaven and put inside the concrete. The exact cause of her death could never be identified because her body was too decomposed. Reports suggested that Lucie had been drugged before she was murdered.
Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case synopsis
The official synopsis of the upcoming true crime documentary reads:
"July 1, 2000. British 21-year-old Lucie Blackman goes missing in Tokyo, sparking an international investigation — and an unyielding quest for justice."
Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case will be released on Netflix on July 26, 2023.
