Kaohsiung authorities detain 73-year-old over suspected killing spree

Kaohsiung, Feb. 7 (CNA) The Kaohsiung District Court on Friday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man over the murder and dismemberment of a 71-year-old woman believed to be part of a killing spree.

According to Kaohsiung prosecutors, the suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a woman surnamed Chao (趙).

Crime scene investigators collected evidence inside Chang's Kaohsiung residence, which led forensic experts to discover two other blood samples on top of Chao's.

After cross-referencing missing persons reports, Kaohsiung authorities said they believed that Chang may have killed at least two other women alongside Chao between December last year and this month.

In the initial case, Chao was reported missing by her family on Monday morning.

Surveillance footage pulled by the police later revealed that Chao gave Chang a ride on her scooter at around 6 p.m. Sunday to Chao's residence where she was last seen.

Cameras showed Chang left his residence 12 times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Monday, carrying black plastic bags on five of these occasions.

According to prosecutors, forensic experts discovered biological evidence at Chang's place such as blood splatters which prompted authorities to suspect the 73-year-old of murder.

Commissioner Lin Yen-tien (林炎田) of the Kaohsiung City Police Department said Friday afternoon that the DNA of female remains retrieved Thursday in a river they located through surveillance matched Chao's blood samples collected at Chang's.

Authorities said due to Chang's suspected motive, police decided to look into missing persons cases to try their luck at identifying the other two DNA samples collected.

It was then discovered that a 75-year-old surnamed Chang, of no relation to the suspect, who was reported missing on Jan. 27 had appeared on surveillance cameras with the suspect on Jan. 17.

Lin said DNA matching confirmed that one of the blood samples inside the suspect's residence belonged to the female Chang.

On the third DNA sample, Lin said it likely belonged to a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the sister-in-law of the suspect who was reported missing by her family on Dec. 15 last year.

According to prosecutors, the suspect Chang used to live with his older brother and Huang.

After the death of his older brother last year, Huang then moved in with her children and Chang lived alone.

DNA samples provided by Huang's relatives showed that she was most likely the third victim, Lin said.

Police said the suspect had served in the military in his youth and was previously given a life sentence following a court martial for sexual assault.