British police pursued a nationwide manhunt Wednesday for a herbal medicine businessman suspected of killing a Chinese university lecturer and his family over a court dispute.
Detectives are hunting 52-year-old Du Anxiang over the killing of lecturer Ding Jifeng, 46, his wife Ge Chui, 47, and their daughters Xing, 18, and Alice, 12, who were knifed to death at their home in Northampton, central England.
Their bodies were found on Sunday but it is not clear when they died.
Du lost a bitter court battle over their shared business interests on Thursday and the following day, Du took a train to Northampton then a bus to their suburb, police said.
Northamptonshire Police Detective Superintendent Glyn Timmins confirmed that the businessman felt he was owed tens of thousands of pounds (dollars, euros) by Ding’s wife.
“There was a dispute over a considerable amount of money related to a business that ended up in the civil courts,” he said.
“I think there was a suit and a counter-suit and at some stage I believe that the judgment went against Mr Du, or at least he hadn’t received the money that felt he was due.
“That is the motivation that we are exploring.”
Ding worked in the chemistry and environmental sciences division at Manchester Metropolitan University in northwest England. His wife taught Mandarin part-time at a local business school.
Both are from Hangzhou, the capital of eastern China’s Zhejiang Province. Police are trying to trace their relatives.
Du worked at a Chinese herbal medicine shop in Birmingham. Police said Du left what appeared to be a suicide note there.
Manchester Met said Ding would be sadly missed at the university and his students and colleagues were being offered counselling.