Police yesterday arrested a migrant worker from Anhui province, saying he confessed to the murder of Canadian model Diana Gabrielle O'Brien, in a case characterised as a robbery that turned deadly.
Police caught Chen Jun , 18, in his native Langxi county, which falls under the jurisdiction of Xuancheng , located about 175km southeast of the provincial capital of Hefei , according to a statement from the Shanghai Public Security Bureau. Local media said he worked at a restaurant near the victim's home.
The suspect surrendered without a struggle. He told police that he had followed O'Brien, 22, into her apartment on Shanghai's Zhaohua Road on Sunday evening intending to rob her.
When she resisted, he killed her and stole cash and valuables, police said. Her death was reported to police on Monday. O'Brien's relatives in Canada were told she had been stabbed repeatedly.
Shanghai authorities are expected to release the body, which would allow it to be transported to her hometown of Saltspring Island, British Columbia, for a funeral.
Police said their preliminary investigation had showed the murder suspect to be a young man of medium build, who rode a bicycle to near the scene of the crime. Relatives of the victim were previously told images of a suspect were captured by surveillance camera.