The body had been cut into eight pieces, her head had been shaved and encased in concrete, and was too decomposed to show the cause of death. According to Obara's indictment, he made Blackman a drink containing a drug before raping her at a condominium in Zushi, subsequently killing her. Obara has maintained his innocence, claiming the drugs that caused her to die were voluntarily self-administered. In October 2000, Obara was charged with drugging, raping and killing Blackman, as well as with raping eight other women and the manslaughter of Ridgway. His trial began on July 4, 2001, and on April 24, 2007, he was jailed for life on multiple rape charges and manslaughter, but was acquitted of Blackman's rape and murder due to a lack of direct evidence. Evidence supporting his guilt of rape included the approximately 400 videos he took, which showed him engaged in date rape activities (including one with Ridgway). For the charge of manslaughter, the prosecutor produced an autopsy report showing traces of chloroform in Ridgway's liver and a paper trail showing that the accused accompanied her to the hospital before she died. In Blackman's case, however, the prosecutor could not produce any forensic evidence linking the accused to her death. Even her cause of death could not be determined. Blackman's father, Tim Blackman, accepted £450,000 in "mimaikin" (condolence money) from a friend of Obara's, but other family members were opposed to accepting the money. A trust, using some of this money and promoting personal safety, was established in Blackman's name. The judge stated that in deciding on the sentence he did not attach much importance to Obara's payment of “consolation money” to a number of his victims. Former prosecutor Takeshi Tsuchimoto, now a professor of criminal procedure law at Hakuoh University Law School, criticised the decision to acquit Obara for the murder of Blackman by pointing to the conviction of Masumi Hayashi due to circumstantial evidence. The public prosecutor, however, appealed the Blackman-related verdicts, as crucial forensic evidence had not been heard at the original trial, and on March 25, 2008, an appeal trial commenced in the Tokyo High Court. Tokyo's High Court found Obara guilty on the counts of abduction, dismemberment and disposal of Blackman's body on December 16, 2008. In early December 2010, the Supreme Court of Japan rejected Obara's appeal and upheld his life sentence.