The case of Jack the Ripper may have been solved—the Chinese version, that is. A serial killer who first struck in 1988 and is believed to have raped and killed 11 women and mutilated a number of them has been apprehended and confessed, state-run media report by way of the AFP.
Gao Chengyong, 52, was arrested thanks to a relative’s transgression: His uncle had his DNA collected following an arrest and officials realized a relation of the man was the “Jack the Ripper” they have been seeking, the BBC reports.
The 52-year-old Gao was found at the grocery store he operates in Gansu, a northwest province. The murders occurred in that region and in Inner Mongolia through the year 2002; it’s unclear why they ceased.
While Gao reportedly confessed, a motive wasn’t given by police. There was reportedly a pattern to the murders though, in that women who were wearing red were often the victims, and many were young (the youngest just 8) and lived alone.
China.org.cn reports by way of Beijing News that one victim was found stabbed in her apartment, but her dismembered hands were never located.
The first alleged killing happened in the year Gao’s wife gave birth to a son. The married man has two sons, and Sky News reports one told local media has father suffered “bitter[ly]” when he was young; the son referenced his father’s failure to become a pilot.
Like his British counterpart, the Chinese murderer on some occasions removed the women’s reproductive organs. But the tally of his alleged killings are more the double the five attributed to the original Jack.
(Before Jack the Ripper came America’s first serial killer.)
This article originally appeared on Newser: 28 Years After He First Struck, China’s ‘Jack the Ripper’ Found
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