A 67-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after his wife’s dismembered body was found in his home in Taoyuan on Saturday, police said yesterday.
Chen Teng-ko (陳登科) had confessed during questioning to killing and dismembering his wife and stuffing the body parts into linen sacks and plastic bags, Criminal Investigation Section Captain Chien Kuo-chun (簡國峻) said.
“The couple had been married about 40 years, although they divorced and remarried once. They had one son and one daughter,” he said.
Photo: CNA
“Family members said they had angry squabbles in the past over the division of property, and had twice filed for divorce, but remained married,” Chien said.
“This past week, they fought over property again and both allegedly verbally agreed to file for divorce for the third time,” he said. “The argument seems to have triggered the murder.”
The couple’s daughter told police that her parents had been living apart, and her mother was last seen going to Chen’s apartment on Long An Road on Friday morning to take him breakfast, as he had requested.
After her mother failed to return to her residence, the daughter began to worry and went to her father’s apartment late on Friday.
She returned the next morning and found her father drunk and behaving erratically, and discovered pools of blood in the bathroom and other rooms, which she photographed.
She then discovered plastic bags containing her mother’s head and body parts, which she took to the nearest police station.
Police found a bag filled with what appeared to be the victim’s organs inside a refrigerator, Chien said.
Three knives allegedly used in the killing were also collected by investigators, he said.
The suspect appeared to have been attempting to dispose of his wife’s remains and personal belongings as investigators found a steel drum containing ash residue, suggesting that he had burned her clothing and other items, Chien said.
Investigators also found surveillance footage of Chen riding a bicycle to a local shop to buy lime powder, which can eliminate strong odors.
Although their investigation is continuing, police have handed the case over to Taoyuan prosecutors, who would charge Chen, Chien said.
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