A woman yesterday confessed to killing her sister-in-law and burying her body in the victim’s room in an apartment in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊), while a couple living in the district were wounded in what appears to be a double suicide attempt.
In the first incident, police said they received a missing person’s report on Friday evening from the victim’s brother, surnamed Yeh (葉).
Yeh told police that he thought his sister had gone to Taichung to participate in a competition and decided to report her as missing only after her employer told him that she had been absent for several days.
Screen grab from Facebook
Police instructed Yeh to enter his sister’s room, where he found a concrete mound.
Yeh’s wife, surnamed Chang (張), looked extremely nervous in the officers’ presence, police said, adding that after asking Chang about the incident, she confessed to killing her sister-in-law.
Chang told police that she did not get along with the victim and the two often argued.
Photo courtesy of the police
They had another argument on Tuesday after Chang dropped her children off at school, she said, adding that she knocked the victim out with a dumbbell in a fit of anger and dragged her to the bathroom, where she allegedly drowned her.
Chang said she wrapped the body in a blanket and buried her in concrete, which she bought and mixed, adding that she also placed a bottle of fragrant oil in the room to cover up any odors.
Police exhumed the body and arrested Chang.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
They said they would conclude their investigation and recommend prosecutors to indict Chang on murder charges.
In the second incident, police yesterday received a call about an alleged double suicide attempt by a man surnamed Lee (李) and a woman surnamed Chen (陳).
Police quoted the caller as saying that, “We do not want to die anymore, but we attempted suicide by slitting our throats.”
Screen grab from Facebook
Police said they found Chen in the bedroom and Lee in the living room of their apartment, both with lacerations to the neck.
The two were sent to Far Eastern Memorial Hospital for emergency treatment, they added.
Chen is still under observation and Lee has recovered enough to talk, police said, adding that they would wait until Lee’s condition improves before questioning him.
Police said they are not ruling out the possibility that Lee, 45, might have stabbed Chen, 50, and then cut himself in an attempt to clear himself of murder charges.
The forensic team found a broken fruit knife, which they believe was used in the incident, and Chen’s dog, which was also wounded, police said.
The dog was placed under the care of the New Taipei City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office, police said.
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