TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A man suspected to be behind a triple homicide in New Taipei was arrested in Taichung on Sunday (May 12).
On Saturday (May 11), the bodies of a 68-year-old woman surnamed Liu (劉), her 29-year-old daughter surnamed Chen (陳), and her 3-year-old grandson were found wrapped in blankets in an apartment in Jinan Street in New Taipei’s Sanchong District, reported Liberty Times. Police listed Chen's husband, a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), as the murder suspect and arrested him in an apartment on Shunping Road in Taichung.
Liu's eldest daughter called the police on Saturday after she could not reach her mother for several days and detected a foul smell coming from the apartment when she knocked on their door. Police found the door was locked with no signs of forced entry.
The three bodies were found on a bed wrapped in blankets. None of the three deceased had stab wounds, and there were no traces of a struggle.
Autopsies were conducted on Sunday to determine the cause of death.
Police opened an investigation and obtained information that Chang left the crime scene on May 6, but the last sighting of Chen was on April 16.
Police found Chang had fled to Taichung on May 6 and paid NT$40,000 (US$1,200) to rent an apartment. At 11 a.m. on Sunday, police raided the apartment and arrested Chang.
Chang, who has a history of fraud, had recently faced financial problems and had borrowed NT$400,000 from his mother-in-law through his wife, reported UDN. He had become involved with a fraud ring and was wanted by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office.
Chang confessed that he strangled his wife in the early hours of May 1 during a heated argument over the NT$400,000 and did the same to his mother-in-law the following day. However, he did not say why he killed his 3-year-old stepson.
The inconsistency between Chang's statements and the preliminary forensic examination results raised suspicions, prompting further investigation to clarify the details. On Monday (May 13), he was transferred to the New Taipei City District Prosecutor's Office to be investigated for homicide (殺人罪), reported SET News.


The following video shows surveillance camera footage of Chang's movements after the murders, his arrest, and his being taken to the police station: