Quadruple murder manhunt: has suspect fled the country?
Darshna Soni
Communities Editor
Police release new images of the man wanted for a quadruple murder in Northamptonshire, but they admit Anxiang Du appears to have vanished without a trace – as Channel 4 News’s Darshna Soni explains.
Police admit they are puzzled by the disappearance of a man suspected of murdering four members of the same family.
A nationwide manhunt for Anxiang Du continues following the deaths of university lecturer Jifeng “Jeff” Ding, his wife Helen, and their two daughters in Northamptonshire last week.Police named the 52-year-old as a suspect after discovering he had been involved in a business dispute with the Ding family. They have released new CCTV images of Du travelling to the scene of the killings on a bus.
Officers say they fear the Chinese-born suspect could already have fled the country.
Detective Superintendent Glyn Timmins told a news conference that Du was now known to have been in possession of a significant amount of cash at the time of the murders.
He could well have left the country and that is a clear line of inquiry. Glyn Timmins
The bodies of Mr Ding, a 46-year-old senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, his 47-year-old wife and their daughters Xing, 18, and Alice, 12, were found at their home in Wootton, Northampton, on Sunday. They are believed to have died from stab wounds on Friday.
Du, who lived in Coventry and worked at a herbal medicine shop in Birmingham, is known to have travelled to Northampton by train just a day after losing a bitter court battle over his shared business interests with the Ding family.
The newly-released images show Du boarding a Number 15 bus at 1.07pm and asking which stop the vehicle was at shortly before he alighted in Wootton’s High Street 20 minutes later.
After Du caught a bus to Wootton, his movements are unknown. Police are trying to trace a silver Vauxhall Corsa that was taken from the Dings’ home and has not been seen since.
Du was reported missing by his family on Friday after they discovered a note “saying goodbye” at the shop where he worked.
He is described as being of slim build and routinely wears a baseball cap to cover a bald spot. Members of the public are advised not to approach him and anyone who spots him or the Corsa, registration BG60 PMO, is urged to call 999.
More from Channel 4 News: Northampton murders: missing Anxiang Du car puzzle
Mr Timmins appealed for anyone who had sold Du clothing, footwear, a mobile phone or travel tickets in recent days to contact detectives.
He said officers were making inquiries with the UK Border Agency and would “leave no stone unturned” to trace Du.
“He could well have left the country and that is a clear line of inquiry,” Mr Timmins told the news conference.
But Du could also be anywhere in the UK, having perhaps gone to members of the Chinese community for help, he added.
Channel 4 News Midlands Correspondent Darshna Soni has been speaking to detectives in Northampton:
She said: "Anxiang Du seems to have vanished without a trace. Detectives admit they're puzzled by the 52-year-old's disappearance.
"There have been no confirmed sightings of him since last Friday and, despite thousands of CCTV cameras across our road networks with Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology, no sightings of the getaway car.
"Mr Du hasn't left a paper trail - his bank cards and mobile phone haven't been used. But Northamptonshire Police revealed today that the businessman had taken a "substantial" amount of money with him when he left home, and that this could sustain him for some time.
"The suspect's passport hasn't been found and there's a possability he may have fled abroad. He had a 48-hour head start on the police.
"It's thought the Dings were killed on Friday, but their bodies weren't found until Sunday. The police have been in contact with the Chinese Embassy, but say there's no trace of Mr Du going through passport control.
"If he is still in the UK, could somebody be helping to shield the suspected killer? The police have appealed today to the Chinese community to come forward with any information, but so far they have had no definite leads.
"Tomorrow it will be one week since the Dings were stabbed to death. The pressure is on Northamptonshire Police to find a man who is now one of the most wanted men in the country."