Who was Carita Ridgway and what happened to her?
CARITA RIDGWAY was one of the victims of Joji Obara, the Japanese killer and serial rapist.
She had only recently moved to Tokyo, Japan, when her life tragically came to an end in 1992.
Who was Carita Ridgway?
Carita was an Australian model who moved to Japan in 1991.
She moved to Tokyo with her sister, Samantha, to pursue a career in acting.
In Tokyo she began working as an English teacher.
She also got a job as a hostess at a bar.
What happened to Carita Ridgway?
Carita was killed by a man named Joji Obara – though his role in her death was not discovered for many years.
In 1992, Carita was offered a lift home from work by serial rapist Obara.
He used chloroform to knock her out and rape her but administered too much of the drug.
Obara dropped Carita off at a Tokyo hospital under a pseudonym, telling staff that she was having a bad reaction to shellfish.
Carita suffered liver failure and was eventually declared brain dead.
Her death was initially listed as Hepatitis E but, years later, police made the connection between her death and Obara.
Police found a videotape at Obara’s home of him raping Carita, as well as a diary entry that read: “Carita Ridgway, too much chloroform.”
At his trial, prosecutors were able to show an autopsy report that found traces of chloroform in Ridgway’s liver.
They also found proof that Obara had been the one to drop her off at the hospital.
In 2007, Obara was convicted of the rape and manslaughter of Carita and received a life sentence in prison.
When was Joji Obara arrested?
Obara was arrested after the 2000 disappearance and death of British air hostess Lucie Blackman.
Lucie’s body was found dismembered in a cave seven months after she went missing from her accommodation in Tokyo.
Obara had chopped Lucie’s body into eight pieces and her head had been encased in concrete.
Police discovered Obara’s involvement in Carita’s death while they were investigating Lucie’s disappearance.
They found the tape and diary entries that showed he had raped her.
They also found videotapes and journals that suggested he may have raped between 150 and 400 other women.
Obara was charged with drugging, raping and killing Lucie but was acquitted of her rape and murder in 2007 due to lack of evidence.
In December 2008, after an appeal pushed by Lucie’s family, he was jailed for abduction, and dismembering and disposing of Lucie’s body.
In 2007, Obara had been found guilty of nine other rape charges and Carita’s manslaughter.
Lucie and Carita’s deaths are both explored in new Netflix documentary Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case.