Arrest Made in China Killings Spree
Latelinenews
2002-04-17
SHANGHAI, China - Police in central China said Wednesday they have
arrested a man suspected of beating and stabbing to death 29 homeless
people in a killing spree that spanned several cities.
Liu Mingwu, 40,
was detained late last month in Liu'an, a city in Anhui province, said a
police official there who gave only his family name, Yuan. Police
believe Liu killed his victims with bricks and knives and then burned
their bodies, Yuan said. He gave no indication of a possible motive.
Liu
was picked up by police after he "acted suspiciously,'' Yuan said. He
wouldn't elaborate, but the semi-official China News Agency said Liu was
found carrying a bloody knife wrapped in newspaper.
Yuan said Liu
suffered from minor mental illness, but doctors determined he was fully
aware of his actions. "He will bear full responsibility for the crimes,''
Yuan said. Murder convictions in China often bring the death sentence.
The killings took place last year in several cities in Anhui,
neighboring Jiangsu province and in Shanghai, Yuan said.
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