Son charged over ‘heads in fridge’ murder

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Hong Kong -

Hong Kong police on Monday said they had charged two men, including a son of an elderly couple who were gruesomely killed, with murder as a search continues for the missing parts of their bodies.

The couple's severed heads were reportedly found by police in a refrigerator at a bloodstained apartment on the outskirts of the southern Chinese city on Friday. Parts of their arms and legs were found elsewhere in the flat.

The 29-year-old son and a 35-year-old man, who is reportedly his friend, were jointly charged with two counts of murder on Sunday, a police spokeswoman told AFP.

The men appeared at a magistrates' court on Monday but no plea was recorded, according to public broadcaster RTHK. Local TV showed one of the suspects being brought to court with his face covered by a black hood.

“The investigation continues on the motive of the case,” the spokeswoman said, adding that police were still looking for the missing parts of the bodies.

Police divers failed to recover any parts after a search at sea near the apartment over the weekend.

Post-mortem examinations will also be carried out to determine the cause of the death of the 64-year-old man and his wife, aged 63.

The couple were reported missing by their eldest son on March 9.

The suspect, their younger son, told police later that his parents were travelling to mainland China but police became suspicious after they failed to find records of the couple leaving the city, the South China Morning Post said.

Police detained the duo on Friday and the arrests led police to the building where the victims' heads were found, along with saws, knives, a chopping board, plastic boxes and bags containing other body parts, the Post said.

Murder is punishable with life imprisonment in Hong Kong. - Sapa-AFP