THE FAMILY of murdered Wexford woman Nicola Furlong have attended a preliminary hearing into her murder today in Japan.

19-year-old American Christian musician Richard Hinds is charged with strangling Ms. Furlong (21) of Curracloe village in a upmarket Tokyo hotel in May but claims he didn’t mean to kill her.

Andrew Furlong, his ex wife Angie and their daughter, Andrea flew to the Japanese capital on Tuesday, arriving yesterday in Tokyo.

“We’ll be attending the court. It will be an emotional trip for the girls especially as it’s their first trip, and the culture is so different they will get a big culture shock. I am even dreading it,” Mr. Furlong said.

The case was on between 1:10 p.m. and 3 p.m. today Japanese time and is scheduled for 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. Furlong said he was advised he didn’t have to attend the juvenile court hearing but his gut feeling was that he should go as he felt Nicola would have wanted him to be there.

“It’s something we have to see through to the end. We will give victim impact statements; either in writing or on the stand through an interpreter,” he said.

The senior judge is expected to rule at the hearing on whether or not Mr. Hinds will be tried as an adult or a juvenile. If tried as an adult he could face life in jail for murder.

Police have still not released the results of toxicology reports to the media or Ms Furlong’s family. The court hearing is likely to shed more light on their suspicions that the women’s drinks were spiked at a bar in central Tokyo before the assaults. Following this a trial is expected to take place either late this year or early next year.

Trials in Japan can often be lengthy, and are stretched out over a series of hearings in which prosecutors present their case to a panel of judges and defence lawyers.

This means the Furlong family may have to spend some time in Japan especially if the defendant pleads not guilty, however once criminal cases reach the courtroom, conviction is almost certain.