Hong Kong police reclassify case to murder-suicide after evidence suggests elderly man might have killed his chronically ill wife before hanging himself
- Man, 83, was found hanging from a curtain, while his 85-year-old wife was spotted lying unconscious in North Point flat on Saturday
- Chief Inspector Kong Sze-wan says bruises were detected on the woman’s neck, prompting officers to look at the murder-suicide angle
Hong Kong police have reclassified a case to murder-suicide, revealing evidence that suggested an elderly man may have killed his chronically ill wife before hanging himself in their North Point flat.
The couple’s 54-year-old son returned home on Saturday and found the 83-year-old man hanging in the living room of their flat in Wiseman Building on Fort Street at about 7.10pm, police said.
He rushed to the kitchen for a knife to cut the curtain rope and release his unconscious father. Then he found his mother, 85, lying unconscious on a bed.
Paramedics rushed the couple to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai but the man was declared dead at 7.46pm. The woman was also confirmed dead a few minutes later.
Chief Inspector Kong Sze-wan of Eastern district said bruises were detected on the woman’s neck, prompting investigators to believe it was a murder-suicide. No signs of a fight were seen.
Postmortem examinations will be conducted to confirm the causes of death.