Family members of slain British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker said Friday they had been contacted by the family of her suspected killer, Tatsuya Ichihashi, and offered condolences for their tragic loss.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2007/nn20070630a3a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='161'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Bill Hawker, father of slain British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, holds up a police poster seeking information about the suspect, Tatsuya Ichihashi, and promising up to 1 million yen for information leading to his arrest, as her sister Louise –

and mother Julia look on during a news conference Friday at the British Embassy in Tokyo. SATOKO KAWASAKI PHOTO

Julia Hawker, the mother of 22-year-old Lindsay, who was found suffocated and buried naked in a sand-filled bathtub at Ichihashi's Chiba apartment in March, revealed that the suspected killer's family "sent through a statement sending their condolences, saying that they hoped their son (atones) for his crime."