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American, Filipina arrested over body in garbage bag

Kaohsiung police on Monday night arrested a US citizen and his Filipina girlfriend on suspicion of murder after a woman's body was found in a garbage bag in front of a store in the city's Yencheng District (鹽埕) on Saturday evening.

Police said the two suspects -- US citizen David Fillion and his Filipina girlfriend Armia -- deny any involvement in the murder.

Police on Sunday named the deceased as 48-year-old Chou Mei-yun (邱美雲), a broker who helped foreigners find work teaching languages at private schools.

Chou left home last Wednesday afternoon, telling her son she would not be home for supper. She was never seen again.

Police said footage from a surveillance camera near the place where the body was found showed a woman riding a scooter towing a big black garbage bag on Friday at approximately 11pm.

The bag was carried on a two-wheeled trailer tied to the rear of the scooter, police said.

Police on Monday traced the scooter to its owner, a Japanese teacher who told the police that she had lent the scooter to Fillion on Friday and that he had not returned it.

Police then went to Fillion's residence in the city's Tsoying District (左營), but discovered that Fillion and Armia had moved out.

Investigators said they found traces of blood and dog hair in the apartment.

They had also found dog hair in the plastic bag which held Chiu's body.

A DNA test showed that the blood found at Fillion's apartment matched that of the deceased, the Kaohsiung City police said last night.

Police discovered that Fillion had gone to stay with a friend in the city's Linya District (苓雅) on Thursday.

Police officers visited the residence and were told by the friend, surnamed Lee, that Fillion had borrowed a trailer from him on Friday.

Fillion and Armia were arrested at a private language school in Tsoying, where Fillion worked, late on Monday.

The pair denied any involvement in the murder.

They were accompanied by several officials from the American Institute in Taiwan's Kaohsiung Office and had refused to answer questions overnight, the police said.

Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Chung Chung-hsiao (鍾忠孝) yesterday told reporters that prosecutors had been able to question the two suspects yesterday afternoon, and they had asked the police to gather more evidence in support of their case.

Police said they were investigating whether Chou had had any financial disputes with Fillion.

They said they suspect the woman who abandoned the body was Armia and not a Japanese woman as originally thought.

Police said the victim had been tied up with nylon ropes and had multiple stab wounds to her chest and thigh, as well as marks on her neck that suggested possible strangulation.

Police suspect the murder was not committed by a single person.
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