Hong Kong police have filed a murder charge against the former in-laws of a model whose body parts were found in a refrigerator and a skull believed to be hers was discovered in a jar
HONG KONG – Hong Kong police have filed a murder charge against the former in-laws of a model and influencer whose body parts were found in a refrigerator in a village house, and a skull believed to be hers was discovered in a jar.
Hong Kong model Abby Choi’s former father-in-law and his eldest son are charged with murder, while her former mother-in-law is charged with perverting the course of justice, police said in a statement on Sunday.
Authorities also arrested the woman’s ex-husband on Saturday and will charge him with murder on Sunday evening, Superintendent Alan Chung said. The four will appear in court on Monday.
The gruesome case came to light when police officers discovered Choi’s body on Friday after she had been missing for several days, along with her ID, credit cards and other belongings. The body was dissected and the remains were stored in a refrigerator in the rural village house in Tai Po, a suburb of Hong Kong closer to the border with mainland China.
At Sunday’s press conference, Chung said authorities found the skull of a young woman, believed to be Choi’s, in one of the cooking pots they seized, alongside several ribs, hair and human issues. In another jar, forensic pathologists also discovered a small number of human bones, he added.
“There’s a hole in the back of the skull on the right side, so the pathologist believes this should be the fatal attack on the victim,” he said.
Chung said Choi was attacked in a car and was unconscious when she got to the house. Police were still trying to determine the exact time of death and locate her hands and torso.
On Sunday, police also arrested another woman they believed to be the mistress of the ex-husband’s father for allegedly aiding the other suspects. Chung said she rented the house with the father, as well as another place to hide the ex-husband.
Choi, 28, had financial disputes involving tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars with her ex-husband and his family, Chung previously said, adding that “some people” were unhappy with the way Choi handled her financial assets.
Choi was a model and influencer who shared her glamorous life of photo shoots and fashion shows with over 100,000 followers. Dressed in a tulle floor-length dress, she had just attended a Dior show during Paris Fashion Week.
Her last post was a week ago, featuring a photoshoot she had done with L’Officiel Monaco, a fashion publication.
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Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan.