The parents of murder victim Masumi Watanabe yesterday sued her convicted killer, Kirk Lankford, and his former employer, Hauoli Termite and Pest Control.

The suit was filed almost two years after Watanabe, 21, disappeared while walking along Pupukea Road and almost one year after Lankford, 24, was convicted of murdering her.

At his trial, Lankford said he accidentally struck Watanabe with his Hauoli truck, injuring her slightly, and was trying to drive her the home where she was staying when she jumped out of the vehicle, struck her head on a rock and died.

He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The Hawai'i Paroling Authority is considering what his minimum term behind bars should be before he can be considered for parole.

The lawsuit was filed by Hideichi and Fumiko Watanabe, the woman's parents, who had sent her from Japan to stay with friends in Hawai'i to help her become more self-confident and outgoing.

The suit seeks an unspecified amount of punitive damages from both Lankford and Hauoli, a pest control company owned by Terminix International Co.

Hauoli officials were not available to comment on the suit yesterday afternoon.

At trial, Lankford denied attempting to kill Watanabe, but said he was afraid he would lose his job if he reported the incident. So he said he stored Watanabe's body in the back of his work truck for the entire day of April 12, 2007, then transferred her remains that evening to his personal pickup truck.

He claimed he tried to bury her on the North Shore of O'ahu but was disturbed while digging the grave. He said he then wrapped the corpse in a plastic garbage bag and carried it several hundred yards offshore of Kualoa Ranch by walking on the reef. Lankford testified he released the body and walked back to his truck, then went home to his wife and child.

Watanabe's body was never found.

The lawsuit claimed Hauoli officials were negligent in their supervision of Lankford, citing trial testimony that he had previously been involved in two earlier accidents that damaged his truck.

The suit also cited police reports that Lankford attempted to sexually assault an exotic dancer in the same Hauoli work truck in 2006.