A former girlfriend of the American man accused of strangling Irish student Nicola Furlong told the Tokyo District Court yesterday that she dated Richard Hinds three years ago, when she was 17 and he was 16. He had never once hit her or been rough with her, she said.
He has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Furlong at a Tokyo hotel last May.Asked if he had ever been violent or used foul language toward her or anyone else, Ms Rodgers replied: “No, never . . . He was sweet and fun to be around. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Ms Rodgers told the court she found it inconceivable that the defendant could be guilty of murder: “It doesn’t make sense.” She added that she couldn’t believe when she heard about his arrest on suspicion of killing the Co Wexford student.
Naoko Wada of the prosecution asked the witness if she thought Mr Hinds was capable of chatting up women he didn’t know and then taking them somewhere to have sex. Ms Rodgers replied that she did not think he would do such a thing.
The prosecution then repeated the transcribed portion of the conversation from the taxi and suggested Ms Rodgers only knew one part of the defendant’s personality. “I know all parts of him,” she replied.
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