Liu MINGWU

Classification: Serial killer
Characteristics: Killing spree
Number of victims: 29
Date of murders: 2001 - 2002
Date of arrest: April 2002
Date of birth: 1961
Victims profile: Homeless people
Method of murder: Stabbing with knife - Beating with bricks
Location: Anhui/Kiangsu/Shangai, China
Status: Unknown

Arrest Made in China Killings Spree

Latelinenews

2002-04-17

SHANGHAI, China - Police in central China said Wednesday they have arrested a man suspected of beating and stabbing to death 29 homeless people in a killing spree that spanned several cities.

Liu Mingwu, 40, was detained late last month in Liu'an, a city in Anhui province, said a police official there who gave only his family name, Yuan. Police believe Liu killed his victims with bricks and knives and then burned their bodies, Yuan said. He gave no indication of a possible motive.

Liu was picked up by police after he "acted suspiciously,'' Yuan said. He wouldn't elaborate, but the semi-official China News Agency said Liu was found carrying a bloody knife wrapped in newspaper.

Yuan said Liu suffered from minor mental illness, but doctors determined he was fully aware of his actions. "He will bear full responsibility for the crimes,'' Yuan said. Murder convictions in China often bring the death sentence. The killings took place last year in several cities in Anhui, neighboring Jiangsu province and in Shanghai, Yuan said.