Suspect in Brit's slaying altered his face

TOKYO, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The prime suspect in the 2007 slaying of a young British woman in Japan likely underwent plastic surgery to help avoid arrest, Japanese police announced Friday.

Investigators released an image of what Tatuya Ichihashi might would look like after undergoing possible cosmetic procedures, which included cheek implants and thinner lips.

Ichihashi has been sought for nearly three years in connection with the beating death of Lindsay Hawker, a 22-year-old Briton who was in Japan to teach English and was found dead in the bathtub of Ichihashi's Tokyo apartment.

Britain's Sky News said Friday that police learned Ichihashi apparently underwent surgery in Osaka and Nagoya, however the reports were still being confirmed.