A 23-year-old Turkish man was jailed for life on Tuesday for torturing and murdering a Japanese woman in Cappadocia, a spectacular tourist site in central Turkey.

Mai Kurihara, 22, was killed and her traveling companion was badly injured in the brutal stabbing attack in September.

The court in the city of Nevsehir found the man identified only as F.U. guilty of torture and intentional killing, Turkish media reported.

The defendant had denied the accusations against him at a final court hearing, although he had reportedly previously confessed to the attack.

He was said to have told police that the two women hit his car with their bicycles and that he then attacked them with a knife.

He was also separately sentenced to 93 years and nine months in jail on charges of sexual assault and deprivation of liberty.

Cappadocia is a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its unique lunar landscape, cone-shaped volcanic rock formations, rock-carved underground cities and early Christian churches.

© (c) 2013 AFP