Chinese and local authorities focus search for suspect in China
The Tucson Police Deparatment named a suspect yesterday in the double murder of a Universty of Arizona doctoral student and his wife.
Tucson Police Department identified Wenshi Zhou, 37, as the suspect in the Nov. 3 murder of UA student Jianquing Yang, 32 and his wife Yu Yun Chen, 33, in their midtown apartment.
The couple was found by their 6-year-old daughter, who called 911 to report that she couldn't wake her parents.
Zhou, who officials say was an acquaintance of the two victims, was living in Tucson at the time of the incident, but police said they believe he has fled to China.
TPD detectives said they believe the murder stemmed from a prior dispute.
TPD spokeswoman Sgt. Judy Altieri said the Pima County Attorney's office is working with Chinese authorities to locate Zhou in China.
"Everyone involved in the investigation has been very cooperative in doing what they can to locate this person and bring him to justice," Altieri said.
Altieri was unable to release any other information due to the investigation's ongoing nature.
Altieri said TPD has dealt with other cases where the suspect has fled overseas. She also said the number of homicide cases TPD solves is fairly high.
UA President Peter Likins said that although the incident seemed to be consistent with earlier crimes involving UA students, the fact that the incident was a personal issue and not a random crime helped to ensure the safety of the campus and the surrounding community.
"We've had to deal with the series of rapes, and then the double murder - the fact that it was not evidence of a criminal environment is comforting," Likins said.
Siliang Li, executive vice president of the Association for Chinese Students and Scholars, said he is confident Chinese authorities will locate the suspect and bring him to justice.
"He's originally from China, and that is shameful, but the feeling that this is not a racial crime is good," Li said. "I can assure you the Chinese government will do a full search to find him."
