2 other Filipino suspects on the run, Japanese authorities say

Prosecutors on Thursday urged a Japanese court to sentence a Filipino man to life in prison for the rape and murder of a university student in Ibaraki Prefecture near Tokyo in 2004.

In closing arguments at the Mito District Court, prosecutors said Lampano Jerico Mori, 36, killed the 21-year-old Ibaraki University student on Jan. 31, 2004, to cover up her rape.

The defense lawyers called for a limited term, saying the defendant has shown remorse for the attack after having a daughter of his own.

Two other men, who were then minors working with Mori at a plant in the village of Miho, Ibaraki, have been placed on an international wanted list for suspected involvement in the case. One of them admitted his guilt to Kyodo News in September.

Japan faces hurdles in pursuing the two as they returned to the Philippines after the murder and the two countries have not signed an extradition treaty.

Mori was arrested last September based on DNA collected from the victim's body and has mostly admitted to the charges.

The prosecutors allege Mori conspired with the two in taking the student into a vehicle in the town of Ami early on Jan. 31, 2004, raped her and killed her by slashing her neck at a riverbank in Miho.

• READ: Pinoy admits to rape-slay of female student in Japan