Police investigating the brutal murder of a family of four have launched a nationwide manhunt for a business associate suspected of carrying out the killings.
University lecturer Jifeng Ding, 56, his wife Helen, 47, and their two daughters, Alice, 12, and Xing, 18, were found dead on Sunday at their home in Wootton, Northants.
Police revealed they are now hunting for Anxiang Du, 52, who works in a Chinese herbal remedy shop where Helen has a business interest.
Du left a suicide note written in Mandarin at his place of work on Friday morning and has not been seen since.
Police believe he may have killed the Ding family before fleeing in their family car, a silver five-door Vauxhall Corsa with the registration number BG60PMO.
Det Supt Glyn Timmins, Northamptonshire Police, today warned the public not to approach Du.
He said: ”We have a suspect for this murder. The suspect is Anxiang Du. Mr Du is a business associate of the family.
”We seek the public’s assistance in finding Mr Du so we can question him about this incident.
”We ask the public’s assistance to track both Mr Du and the car, however, what we will say is that the public should ring 999 if they see the car or Mr Du and let police continue their inquiries.
”My advice would be neither Mr Du nor the car should be approached.
”The link we are pursuing is the business interests of predominately Du and possibly Helen Chui.
”Critically, Mr Du appears to have left a suicide note of some description. The suicide note was written in his native language of Mandarin.
”We have had a possible translation and it appears to be saying ”it’s time to say goodbye” and is directed towards his family members.
”My understanding is that the wife Helen Chui had the primary business interest with Mr Du but I can’t disclose any information.
”I don’t feel there is any general threat to the public. We are exploring business interests and we feel that is the reason this family was tragically targeted.
”However, I have said that the public should be cautious.
”I can’t say with any certainty what his state of mind is but I can say he is likely to be frightened, desperate and, certainly when and if he sees this in media, anxious and nervous.
”He may be deceased but we have no indication that that is the case. My assumption is that he is still alive.”
Du left his home in Coventry, Warwickshire, at 10.30am before arriving at the Chinese herbal medicine shop in Birmingham where he works.
He left a suicide note written in Mandarin before leaving his place of work, which was found by a family member who contacted West Midlands police later that day.
Police say the note did not contain any details about the Ding family but was directed at his relatives and said it was ”time to say goodbye”.
Du has not been seen since then and police have warned the public not to approach him as the murder weapon has not yet been recovered.
A post-mortem examination has revealed that the Ding family, of whom two were found downstairs two upstairs, all died from stab wounds.
Du, who is of Chinese descent, is described as having a slim build and police say he wears a baseball cap to hide a bald patch on his head.
He is believed to be carrying a rucksack and police say he may be using the rail network to travel.
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