Suspected killer of Briton "sends cash" to bereaved

TOKYO, Sep 30 (Reuters) A wealthy Japanese businessman accused of killing British woman Lucie Blackman sent 100 million yen (850,000 dollars) to the former British Airways flight attendant's family, Kyodo news agency reported on today.

Quoting defence lawyers for Joji Obara, charged with killing Blackman in 2000, Kyodo said the Japanese man had sent the ''condolence money'' to her family in Britain.

The lawyers were not immediately available for comment.

A millionaire property developer, Obara, 54, is accused of drugging, raping and killing Blackman, who was 21 when she died.

Blackman, who had been working at a hostess bar in Tokyo's Roppongi entertainment district, vanished after saying she was going for a drive with a man on July 1, 2000.

Prosecutors said Obara had taken her to his condominium near Tokyo that day and made her drinks containing sleeping pills and other drugs before raping her.

Although Obara said he had taken Blackman to his home, he denied giving her drug-laced drinks and said he had not had sex with her on the night she is believed to have been drugged and raped.

Police found Blackman's mutilated body buried in a seaside cave near Obara's condominium several months later.

Obara is also charged with raping nine women -- Japanese and non-Japanese - and has been charged in a sexual violence case resulting in the death of a young Australian woman.

He has denied all the charges.

When Lucie Blackman disappeared, her family launched a campaign to find her that resulted in a massive manhunt by Japanese police and brought international attention to the case.

REUTERS MQA SP1114