The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women.
The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙).
The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect.
Photo: Huang Liang-chieh, Taipei Times
The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday.
Police, upon reviewing CCTV footage, found the suspect left his residence 12 times the next day, five times taking a bag with him and dumping the contents in the Cianjhen River (前鎮溪).
Forensic experts discovered biological material at the suspect’s residence such as blood, which prompted police to suspect him of murder.
After an investigation, police deduced that he killed Chao and disposed of the body in the river after dismembering it.
Kaohsiung Police Commissioner Lin Yen-tien (林炎田) yesterday said that the DNA of the remains retrieved from the river matched Chao’s blood samples collected at the suspect’s residence.
Two other DNA samples were also collected at the suspect’s residence, so police looked at missing persons cases.
A woman surnamed Chang was reported missing on Jan. 27. She had been seen at Sanmin Park on Jan. 17 and with the suspect in Cianjhen District (前鎮) later that day.
The woman had been seen entering the residence of the suspect and had not been seen since, police said.
The police also investigated the suspect’s acquaintances and family, and found that the suspect’s sister-in-law had also been reported missing on Dec. 15 last year.
Chao’s remains have been recovered from the river, but the bodies of the other two victims have yet to be found, Lin said.
The murder weapon has not been found, he said.
The suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was still serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said, adding that he was sentenced to life imprisonment, but was later allowed parole.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) yesterday said that the alleged murderer’s acts were inhuman, heinous and unpardonable, urging the police department to solve the case as soon as possible.
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