Detectives hunting Britain's most-wanted fugitive have appealed to his family and friends in Hunan province for help in tracking down the man wanted for the brutal murder of a family of four. More than two months after university lecturer Jifeng Ding, 46, and his family were hacked to death at their home in England, the suspect Anxiang Du, 52 is now believed to have fled Britain. The appeal comes as more details of the links between the two families emerge. Police sources said relatives of the murdered family were 'living in fear' of the suspect and officers would not rest until he was caught. Since the April 29 killings at the Ding family's luxury home in an upmarket village near Northampton, the trail has gone cold, with only unsubstantiated sightings of the wanted man. Now, officers have asked for people in Du's native province of Hunan to be vigilant and share any information that may have made its way back to China. 'Du is a nationalised British citizen and holds a British passport - his Chinese passport is expired,' a police source said. 'But given the fact he is wanted for such a horrific crime, he may have felt safe in going home. 'He is considered very dangerous and should not be approached. But the question we have to ask is, has Anxiang Du gone home to China? And are there any rumours of where he might be circulating in his home province?' Hours before the slayings, Du wrote an apparent suicide note, but he was carrying clothes and money when he disappeared. Officers have been in constant contact with the Dings' relatives through the Chinese embassy. The relatives are due to land in Britain within the next few weeks, though it has taken a lot of hard work to convince them the trip could be of help. 'We would like them to make an appeal, but there are still a few issues to be resolved,' the police source said. 'Not least that they are very scared that Du is still out there. They feel vulnerable in China and, of course, those fears will be heightened if they come here.' A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire police said: 'Even the smallest piece of information will provide our search with greater direction - and will be acted upon.' Du moved in 1999 to Britain, where his wife, Dr Can Chen, was already living. The couple met the Hangzhou-born Ding, known locally as Jeff, and his wife, Shanghai-born chemical engineer Ge Chui, known as Helen. Together the couples ran Chinese herbal shops in Northampton and Birmingham. So close were they that Ding, a Manchester Metropolitan University science lecturer, and his wife supported Du's application for residency. However, the relationship soon became very difficult, with each side accusing the other of financial discrepancies in their businesses. Du believed Chui, 47, had cheated him out of money and was trying to avoid paying him by selling their home at a knock-down price. The two families were embroiled in court proceedings culminating in Du's assets being frozen on the evening of April 28. Police believed this was the motive for the killings that rocked the village of Wootton, near Northampton. What happened in the house is unknown. The police were called after the family missed a neighbour's party, and two days after the killings, they discovered the bodies of the couple and their daughters Xing, 18, and Alice, 12. Police believe Du travelled from his home in Coventry to his herbal medicine shop in Birmingham, then on to his victims' luxury detached home in Wootton. Du then travelled to London. CCTV footage showed him in a London street, where a car he had used had been abandoned, looking in shop windows at 2.27am on April 30. Investigators are offering a reward of GBP10,000 (HK$124,888) for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer of the Ding family.
