Model’s in-laws face charges in grisly killing

Police in Hong Kong filed murder charges against the former in-laws of a model, days after her body parts were found in a refrigerator.

Hong Kong model Abby Choi’s father-in-law and his eldest son are being charged with murder, while her mother-in-law faces one count of perverting the course of justice, police said in a statement yesterday. The authorities also arrested the woman’s ex-husband on Saturday, but have not brought a charge against the 28-year old man.

The gristly case came to light when police officers discovered the model’s body, dissected into parts and stored in a refrigerator, in a rural village home in Tai Po, a suburban part of Hong Kong closer to the border with mainland China on Friday.

“Police also have found that the flat was arranged by cold-blooded killers meticulously,” Superintendent Alan Chung said Saturday. “Tools that are used to dismember human bodies were found in the flat, including meat grinders, chainsaws, long raincoats, gloves, and masks.”

The 28-year-old woman had financial disputes involving tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars with her ex-husband and his family, Chung said, adding that “some people” were unhappy with how Choi handled her financial assets.

The victim had been missing for days when police discovered severed legs that belonged to a woman in the refrigerator as well as Choi’s identity card, credit cards and other items in the house. They also found human tissue in pots of soup, Chung said. Police did not find the victim’s head, torso or hands at the scene.

The house where her remains were discovered had been rented by her ex-husband’s father only a few weeks ago, Chung said. MDT/AP