An alleged Chinese serial killer, who is accused of raping and murdering 11 victims over the course of a 15-year period, has finally been captured.
On Friday, police in Gansu province arrested Gao Chengyong, 52, a man investigators believe is responsible for the rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl and 10 other women. The horrific crimes occurred between 1988 and 2002 in the towns of Baiyin and Baotou, located in Inner Mongolia.
According to China Daily, English-language newspaper, Chengyong was arrested in a grocery store in the town of Baiyin, where nine of the killings occurred.
South China’s Morning Post reports the man, dubbed China’s “Jack the Ripper,” targeted young women, dressed in red and allegedly followed them home during daylight hours before raping and killing his victims.
The killer would often mutilate his victims’ bodies and remove body parts such as breasts, hands and ears, according to the New York Times. The first victim was 23. She was found in her home in 1988, with 26 stab wounds to her body.
According to China Daily, police offered a $30,000 reward for information leading an arrest in 2004. Based on DNA and fingerprint evidence, police believed they were looking for a man between the ages of 33 and 40.
“The suspect has a sexual perversion and hates women,” the police reportedly said at the time. “He’s reclusive and unsociable, but patient.”
Citing a statement from the China’s Ministry of Public Security, South China’s Morning Post reported Chengyong was arrested after police were tipped-off, leading officers to a grocery store. The married father of two admitted to the killings that began nearly three decades ago.