Hunt for Chinese serial killer ends after prime suspect is found dead
- Man accused of murdering five neighbours in Hunan province is believed to have died after taking poison
- Victims include four members of same family, including two young children
A man in central China who was wanted for the suspected murder of five of his neighbours was found dead on Tuesday, state television reported.
Zhang Juqian, 56, had been the subject of a huge manhunt involving thousands of police officers after he was named the prime suspect in the killings near his home in Dongkou county in Hunan province.
The dead included a family of four – two elderly people and two children aged five and seven – who were killed on Saturday, China Central Television reported. He was also suspected of killing another village resident four days earlier.
The killings sparked panic in the village and local residents told the TV station that he had frequently clashed with his neighbours.
They said he held a grudge against the family he had apparently killed, while his feud with the other resident had been sparked by a “trivial thing”.
