The brutal murder of a university coed has rocked Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science in Tainan after the victim’s burned body was discovered in Kaohsiung on Monday.
Police responding to the report of a fire on Chaishan (柴山) found the body, which was later identified as a 19-year-old student at the Tainan school.
A 25-year-old student from the same university, surnamed Huang (黃), was found near the body.
Photo: Huang Chia-lin, Taipei Times
Police said they questioned Huang because he was displaying “unusual behavior.”
Huang told police that the victim was his girlfriend, before later allegedly telling them: “I started the fire, and I was the one who killed her.”
After being taken into custody, Huang allegedly told investigators yesterday that he had known the victim well and had killed her in a fit of anger.
“As good friends, we talked all the time. I really liked her and wanted her to be my girlfriend, but she refused me,” police quoted Huang as saying.
Police said he told them he had been giving the victim emotional support after she recently broke up with a boyfriend who lives in northern Taiwan, which is why he thought she would agree to be his girlfriend.
Huang reportedly told police that the victim had stayed over the weekend at his apartment, which he shared with another male student.
He allegedly said that he strangled her on Monday after she spurned his sexual advances.
Police said Huang confessed to necrophilia, saying he had sex with the teen’s body while it was still warm.
Huang allegedly told investigators he loved the victim, felt very remorseful, regretted what he had done and wanted to apologize to his family and to the victim’s family.
Chia Nan students said the school had been overwhelmed by reports of the murder and that the victim’s classmates and friends were reduced to tears.
School administrators said that counseling would be provided to grief-stricken students.
Some students said the victim had been a cheerful girl who always had a smile when she saw friends and was willing to help friends out.
“One of the teachers was so overwhelmed that she broke down repeatedly. She told us it felt like she had lost a daughter,” one student said.
Students described Huang as a nice guy, with a sunny disposition who frequently joked around with friends.
Many students said they had never never seen him get angry or upset.
Investigators said they were surprised to discover that Huang’s father is a senior police captain in Miaoli County.
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