Man arrested for kidnapping and killing sex partner

A man accused of kidnapping and killing a woman he regularly had casual sex with has been arrested, prosecutors of the Pudong New Area said.

The 26-year-old suspect, surnamed Zhou, met a businesswoman surnamed Li, 22 years his senior, three years ago. They soon became sexual partners, continuing even after Zhou got married, prosecutors said.

Later, Zhou wasn’t satisfied with his job in Shanghai and returned to his hometown with his wife. But he didn’t live a good life there, prosecutors said.

Zhou’s wife told prosecutors that he couldn't find a job back in his hometown and instead became addicted to gambling, lost a lot of money and got into huge debt. “He left home on March 22 at midday and told me he went to borrow some money,” his wife said.

However, prosecutors found that Zhou drove directly to Shanghai to meet Li, where they had sex at his temporary residence. Over the period, Zhou held her by the throat and tied a silk scarf around her neck, causing her to suffocate. After she died, he took her bracelet and other belongings, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Zhou carried her body to his car and drove back to his hometown overnight. He went to his parents’ house while they were out working, where he buried the body in the courtyard and planted a tree on top, prosecutors allege.

Zhou also impersonated Li to contact her daughter, a university student nicknamed Xiaomei, through WeChat on March 25. He claimed that “she” was being held by a pyramid network and that they demanded a ransom of 2.5 million yuan (US$365,759). It raised Xiaomei’s suspicions and she contacted police, according to prosecutors.

Police tracked Zhou down two days later. He has not admitted guilt, prosecutors said.

He insisted Li’s death was just an accident while they were having "fun" and said that he actually didn’t want the money. “I just wanted to put her off reporting it to police — she needed time to collect so much money so she wouldn't have time to report it,” Zhou told police.

Prosecutors said the case has been transferred to the No.1 Branch of Shanghai People’s Procuratorate. Zhou is likely to receive life imprisonment or even the death penalty if found guilty, prosecutors said.