Several pieces of severed human remains in a Kaohsiung river and nearby docks have been identified as belonging to missing women believed to have been killed and dismembered by a 73-year-old man, local police said today.
The man surnamed Chang (張) was taken back to his residence in Cianjhen District (前鎮) today to answer questions after blood samples collected at his home last week matched DNA samples provided by family members of three previously reported missing women.
Photo: Hung Chen-hung, Taipei Times
The human remains uncovered since Thursday last week have been identified as those of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張) of no relation, Kaohsiung Police Department Commissioner Lin Yen-tien (林炎田) told reporters yesterday.
The third blood sample was found to be the suspect's 75-year-old sister-in-law, surnamed Huang (黃), police said.
Chao's family reported the woman as missing on Monday last week, and surveillance footage reviewed by the police revealed that Chao gave Chang a ride on her scooter the day before to his residence where she was last seen.
Cameras also showed Chang leaving his residence 12 times between 6am and 10am on Monday last week.
On five of these occasions, Chang carried black plastic bags, the contents of which he then dumped in a river.
Police questioned Chang on Tuesday and arrested him the following day in connection with the death of Chao (趙).
Forensics later found blood samples collected in his residence that matched the missing women.
The local district court granted on Friday prosecutors' motion to detain the suspect.
Meanwhile, the city's Criminal Investigation Corps said today that a small piece of suspected human remains had been found and sent to the department's Forensic Science Center.
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