Society

Suspect in 10 slayings targeted father-in-law

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-16 17:58

A bathhouse in Northeast China's Liaoning province became the scene of a multiple murder, after 10 people were found dead there and at a neighboring car wash in Ertaizi Village, Ningyuan Town in Anshan City on Thursday, local police said. The investigation is ongoing. [Photo/Xinhuanet.com]

SHENYANG - A man suspected of killing 10 people in northeast China, including his father, wife and son, has confessed his crime and said he fled to seek chance to kill his father-in-law, said local police Saturday.

Zhou Yuxin, 33, admitted that he killed ten people between late Wednesday and early Thursday with an iron hammer in Ertaizi Village, Ningyuan Town in Anshan City. The hammer was found in a minivan that Zhou drove to flee, said a municipal police spokesman.

Zhou was caught in the city of Dashiqiao Friday afternoon and appeared "calm" during questioning, said the spokesman.

Zhou said he fled in order to have chance to kill his father-in-law who dismissed Zhou as "useless" for his unsuccess in business and refused to lend him money just days before the murder, said the spokesman.

Ten bodies were found Thursday at a bathhouse and a neighboring car wash. Among the dead were Zhou's wife, son, father, a female bathhouse worker, three family members of Zhou's landlord and three car wash workers.

Zhou borrowed 100,000 yuan (about $15,300) from his farther-in-law to open an electrical repair shop several years ago but the business did not go well. When Zhou asked his farther-in-law for more money several days ago, his farther-in-law refused, said the spokesman.

In addition, Zhou suspected that his wife, Yan Bing, was having an affair with a car wash worker, who was killed by him. Zhou did not reply why he also killed his son and father.

Zhou said that after killing the ten people, he called his father-in-law, wanting to set a meeting in his bathhouse but was refused. Zhou even drove to his father-in-law's home to look for him, but in vain. Then Zhou fled.

Residents in Dayangqi, the suspect's home village, which is only a few kilometers from the crime scene, said that Zhou's family has a history of mental illness.

Zhou's maternal grandmother had suffered from mental disorders, so did his mother, who is still missing after running away from home when Zhou was a toddler, according to Yan Zhengyuan, former head of the village and Dong Zhilan, a villager.

Zhou's father and mother were cousins, they said.

However, villagers also said that besides his introverted personality, Zhou was normal.

Family medical history and the marriage of cousins could have had some impact on Zhou's mental health but psychiatric tests will be needed to find out whether he was mentally ill, said Yao Sheng, head of a mental health hospital in Anshan.