A man with a history of drug abuse is suspected of murdering and setting fire to his grandparents in an episode of drug-induced hysteria in Kaohsiung yesterday before regaining self-control and turning himself in, police said.
Lee Chih-lung (李志隆), 21, allegedly went berserk when his grandmother caught him doing drugs and chided him, police said.
Exasperated, Lee reportedly shoved his grandmother against a wall, picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed her multiple times before turning on his grandfather, who had rushed to restrain him, police said.
“His grandparents had pampered him since he was a child, yet he still had it in him to kill them. He is worse than an animal,” Lee’s relatives said after learning about the alleged double homicide.
Lee later reportedly set fire to his grandfather’s corpse and the apartment before coming to his senses and calling the authorities, police said.
Police and paramedics rushed to the scene and found two bodies: a female victim lying in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds and a male victim covered with blankets and severely burned, the police said, adding that Lee was taken into custody for questioning and charged with homicide.
“I was high on drugs. I did not know what was happening,” the police quoted Lee as saying.
Lee later said he had taken an ecstasy cocktail on Friday night, police said.
The child of a divorced couple, Lee was raised by his grandparents, police said, adding that he admitted to having become a drug addict in junior-high school, dropping out soon afterward.
Up until recently, Lee had been working as a molding technician and plasterer, spending most of his income on drugs and at Internet cafes, police said.
Lee had been referred for a delivery job at a window and door manufacturer in Tainan about a month ago and said he could return to his home in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) only on weekends, police said.
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