Caught on film: Lindsay with the man who may be her killer

Police have issued CCTV footage from a coffee shop near the Tokyo flat of Tatsuya Ishihashi, who had persuaded the 22-year-old English teacher to give him a private lesson.

Lindsay had told friends that she had to be on her guard, like so many other Western women, against the attentions of Japanese men. But somehow Ishihashi seems to have put her at her ease.

Dressed in a stylish knee-length cream coat, with a belt at the waist, the girl from Brandon, Coventry, is seen walking into the cafe behind him on Sunday, March 25.

She stands just behind Ishihashi, who wears a dark jacket over a sweater and jeans and a knitted black hat, as he arrives at the counter, then turns to her to check on what kind of coffee she wants.

He appears to fumble for money in his pocket and Lindsay is seen about to reach into a bag on her arm, perhaps to help him with some change, before he eventually pays.

Then she is seen turning to leave ahead of him. They were caught on another camera getting into a taxi on what would prove to be her final journey.

The scenes were made public as police sources revealed that Lindsay's neck had been broken and her murderer had shaved off her hair.

He was believed to be planning to keep it as a token but left it behind when he ran from police who turned up at his flat after Lindsay was reported missing. It was found stuffed in a plastic bag in the kitchen.

Psychiatrists who have studied sex killers say that many seriously-disturbed characters tend to keep souvenirs such as locks of hair.

American serial killer Ted Bundy, who admitted the rape and murder of at least 30 women, was obsessed with hair and selected brunettes as his victims.

Police have not speculated on whether Ishihashi cut off Lindsay's hair while his bound and gagged victim was still alive, or whether he carried out the final abuse after he had killed her.

Until now, nothing had been known about Lindsay's movements after she had left her apartment for a rendezvous with the suspect.

Teams of police spent days knocking on doors in the east Tokyo suburb where Ishihashi lived, without success.

On Sunday, Lindsay's father Bill, a driving instructor, appealed to the Japanese public for information, saying the murder had brought shame on their nation. Hours later, police released the video footage to TV stations.

Just how Ishihashi has been able to remain on the run after his face has been shown on all the networks suggests to police that he is receiving help from someone who is prepared to risk jail by giving him refuge.

There have been suggestions that he has links with the Japanese Mafia, the yakuza, but crime experts say that harbouring a man accused of murdering a Western woman would cause too many problems for the organisation.