Police in new appeal for the Chinese family of 4 murders

OFFICERS have made a renewed appeal for information, twelve months on since the tragic murders of the Ding family. Jifeng ‘Jeff’ Ding, his wife Ge ‘Helen’ Chui and their two daughters Xing ‘Nancy’ Ding and Alice Ding were brutally murdered in their home on Friday 29th April 2011.The suspected murderer Anxiang Du, 53 from Coventry was declared the only suspect soon after the discovery of the murders and has since evaded capture. As part of an anniversary press conference Assistant Chief Constable Martin Jelley appealed again to the wider community to come forward if they had any information that could assist the investigation.alt

An increased reward of up to £25,000 for any information leading to the arrest and successful conviction of the suspect was also revealed to mark the anniversary. Detective Chief Inspector Tom Davies, leading the investigation, said: “We accept that Anxiang Du had the opportunity to leave the country soon after the murders and someone most likely will have assisted him in doing this, or will be assisting him now. It may be that someone has unwittingly assisted him and we need that person to contact us.”

Initial enquiries into the murder focused on key areas including Northampton – where the murders were committed, the West Midlands – where the suspect was from, and London – where it is believed he travelled to and abandoned the car. The investigation further focused on the UK as both the victims and the suspect were UK citizens with friends and family in the country. Later stages of the investigation have focused in Europe and most recently China.alt

On Sunday 25th March, three officers travelled to China with the aim of speaking with associates of the suspect for any information they may have in identifying people who could have assisted him in his escape.

The trip to China also afforded the force the opportunity to meet the family of the victims, update them on the investigation and pass on the force’s deepest sympathies for their loss, in person.

DCI Tom Davies, said: “While in China we met the wider family including the grandparents who explained the significance of the national remembrance day on the fourth of April called Tomb Sweeping Day. This is where family visited the shrines of the deceased to pay their respects. This was a very sensitive time for the family, which we understood and respected and this further reinforced our determination to locate our suspect.”

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The Police’s recent trip to China and arrests show that we are very much active in this case and in our search for Anxiang Du.

Recent developments in the case saw the arrest of four people last week, on suspicion of conspiracy to assist an offender. They were all released on bail pending further enquiries.

DCI Tom Davies, said: “We have a strong team of officers working on the case, sifting through every piece of information or line of enquiry to ensure that we can track him down.

“We are working closely with a number of law enforcement agencies including Interpol and the Serious and Organised Crime Agency.

In addition, we are working with the National Missing Persons Bureau to ensure where unidentified bodies are recovered, it is not our suspect. This supports our belief that he is alive.

“We have a substantial reward of up to £25,000 available for anyone who has any information that leads to the successful arrest and conviction of Anxiang Du. And would ask members of the public to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or the police on 101 if they have any information, so that we can bring justice to the families of the victims.”

To date there have been over 2000 people visited and interviewed regarding sightings, information, intelligence, questioning, etc. There has been over 5,000 hours of CCTV seized from around the UK. Over 380 suspect sightings, as well as nine arrests for various offences some of whom were arrested in the belief that they were our suspect.

 

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