The couple said they were shocked and devastated

The body of Lindsay Ann Hawker, 22, an English language teacher from Brandon, Warwickshire, was found in March.

In a BBC News interview Lindsay's father, Bill, admitted the couple had not coped very well.

Her mother, Julia, dismissed the idea her daughter had been teaching English to the suspect, Tatsuya Ichihashi.

Images of Tatsuya Ichihashi were taken by an elevator camera

Mr Ichihashi, 28, fled from his apartment - where Lindsay's body was found - when police arrived to question him. Video footage of him was released by Japanese police earlier this month.

Post-mortem test results suggested Lindsay was strangled or asphyxiated. She had also suffered severe injuries to her face and arms.

Her father told the BBC's Natasha Kaplinsky: "Some days you don't feel like surviving... We're just taking each day at a time."

Mrs Hawker said the couple knew something was seriously wrong when they received a phone call from Japan after being unable to contact their daughter for some time.

'Beautiful inside'

Mr Hawker said: "Lindsay never missed a shift for work... She always did her lesson plans the night before.

"So why it took two days before she was reported missing we don't know... She rang us and e-mailed us every day."

Lindsay Ann taught English in Tokyo for five months

In the interview for BBC One's Six O' Clock News, Mr Hawker said: "Lindsay was a wonderful girl. She was beautiful to look at. She was beautiful from the inside.

"She was highly intelligent. She'd got a first class degree. She loved education. She loved teaching. She helped so many people in her life... She fulfilled all our hopes and dreams."

He said the couple had actively encouraged her to go to Tokyo because it was Westernised and had very low reported crime rates.