Suspect in stabbing deaths of parents arrested in Xinzhuang

New Taipei, Jan. 20 (CNA) A 36-year-old man suspected of killing his mother and father in New Taipei's Luzhou District after they refused to give him money was arrested in the city's Xinzhuang District on Monday evening, authorities said.

According to the New Taipei City Police Department, a relative of the family called the police after being unable to reach the suspect's mother, surnamed Hsu (許), by phone multiple times on Monday.

The relative then went to the victims' home and called again from outside their front door, where she was able to hear Hsu's phone ringing inside, police said.

After calling a locksmith to open the home's front door, police entered to find the bodies of Hsu, 75, and her 67-year-old husband, surnamed Liao (廖), in a pool of blood on the living room floor, each with more than 10 slash wounds on their bodies.

Using surveillance video footage, police found that the couple's son, also surnamed Liao, had visited the family home on Saturday evening, before departing at around 9 p.m. on a motorcycle.

After leaving the scene of the crime, the younger Liao rode to Sanchong, abandoned his motorcycle, and then took a taxi to Xinzhuang District, where he continued to flee on foot, police said.

A machete that was likely used in the murders was found in the storage compartment under the motorcycle's seat, police said.

Citing anonymous police sources, local media reports said the suspect slept in a construction site next to Xinzhuang Sports Park on Saturday and Sunday night.

He was arrested at 6:16 p.m. Monday on Xintai Road and brought in for questioning.

According to police sources, the murdered couple had a business selling scallion pancakes out of a truck in Sanchong, while their son, an only child, was unemployed with the exception of occasional odd jobs.