Suspect In Northampton murders comes from Coventry

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Detectives investigating the murder of a family of four found stabbed to death in Northampton have named a man, from Coventry, who they want to speak to in connection with the killings.



The suspect, 52-year-old Anxiang Du, is a business associate of the deceased family, who has a Chinese herbal medicine shop in the Pallisades shopping centre in Birmingham and is of Chinese origin.

Detective Superintendent Glyn Timmins said: “Mr Du routinely wears a baseball cap as he has a bald patch at the back.

“We believe that he may have with him a rucksack which he wears across him. We would seek the public assistance in finding Mr Du so that we can question him.”

Jifeng Ding, his wife Helen, 47, and their two daughters Xing, 18, and Alice, 11, were found stabbed to death at the weekend at their home in Wootton, Northampton.



The family had not been seen by neighbours since Friday night. It is thought they were attacked inside the detached property before being discovered by police on Sunday.

Det Supt Timmins confirmed post mortems on the four bodies had been carried out showing they had all died as a result of stab wounds and that it was now a homicide investigation.

He added that a silver Vauxhall Corsa could be the key evidence in solving the murder.

The car, registration BG60 PMO, had been hired by the family while their car was being repaired and it has now gone missing.

Det Supt Timmins advised the public not to approach Mr Du or the car but contact the police with any information and to let them continue their investigation.

Jifeng Ding was a lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University and his wife Helen taught Mandarin at a nearby secondary school.

Tributes have been paid to the lecturer on the social networking website Facebook.

One user, Lance Challinor, wrote: “I was looking at the notes I made in one of his lectures, RIP Jeff I hope justice is served!”.

Another user wrote: “May Whoever Did This Rot In Hell”.

The immediate area around the family home is still cordoned off. Flowers have been left outside the house, which lies in a quiet cul-de-sac.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Northamptonshire Police on 0800 096 1011 or 0207 158 0126 between 8am and midnight and ask for the Operation Nene incident room.

Alternatively they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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A £10,000 reward has been put up to try and track down the Coventry man wanted over the murders of a family-of-four in Northampton.



On Friday it will be three weeks since Jeff Ding, his wife Helen and their two daughters were stabbed to death in their house.

Helen’s business associate 52-year old Anxiang Du from Radford has been seen on CCTV nearby just before it happened.

Up until today there had been no more sightings of him – but detectives have now revealed a man matching his description was spotted on CCTV a day afterwards in London.

He was near to where the Ding’s car has since been discovered abandoned off Edgware Road.

Detective Superintendent Glyn Timmins who is leading the investigation says they also need more information on Mr Du’s movements in Northampton:

D/Supt Timmins appealed for communities locally and nationally to be his eyes and ears

“Our objective is to gather sufficient evidence to convict and therefore we also call to people of Wootton and surrounding areas to come forward if they think they saw Mr Du en-route to, or in Wootton village, including those who got on the number 15 bus from Greyfriars to Wootton at 1.30 on Friday 29th April (image below).

“Any information however small could be of great help as we build the picture of what happened that afternoon.”

Police say Mr Du had lost a court case against the Dings the day beforehand and as well as living a goodbye note at his shop in Birmingham, had a large amount of cash on him.

If you see him you can call Northamptonshire Police on 03000 111 222 or dial the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Coventry woman arrested over deaths of Northampton Ding family



A COVENTRY woman has been arrested in connection with an investigation into the deaths of a family of four in Northampton.

The woman, aged 54, was arrested this morning on suspicion of conspiracy to assist an offender in connection with the murders.

Two others, a woman aged 39 from Gloucestershire and a man, aged 25 from London, were also arrested this morning.

All three are now being questioned at their local police stations.

The bodies of the Ding family, two adults and two children, were found with stab wounds at their home in Wootton, Northamptonshire, in April last year.

The main suspect in the case, Anxiang Du from Coventry is still at large and officers have also travelled to China as part of the inquiry.

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Ding family murders: Police increase reward to £25,000

Police have said they are increasing the reward for information on the murders of a family of four in Northamptonshire to £25,000.

Jifeng and Helen Ding and their daughters, Alice, 12, and Xing, 18, were stabbed to death at their home in Wootton on 1 May, 2011.

Soon after the killings, police named Anxiang Du, who has not been traced, as the main suspect in the case.

Four people are on bail on suspicion of conspiracy to assist an offender.

Detectives hunting businessman Mr Du, 52, raised the reward from £10,000 and said they believed he may have changed his appearance.

Det Ch Insp Tom Davies said a national manhunt was continuing, but the search for Mr Du - who has not been seen since the day of the murders - had spread internationally with the help of Interpol and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca).

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Moroccan police arrest man suspected of killing UK family of four

Police in Morocco have arrested a man believed to be a Chinese businessman wanted on suspicion of murdering a family of four.

Anxiang Du, 53, is thought to have fled the UK shortly after the deaths of university lecturer Jifeng "Jeff" Ding, his wife Ge "Helen" Chui and their two daughters Alice, 12, and Xing, 18.

The family were found stabbed to death at their home in Wootton, Northamptonshire, on 29 April last year - the same day as the royal wedding.

Northamptonshire police said a man believed to be Du was arrested on Saturday afternoon in Tangier.

A police spokeswoman said: "Detectives hunting for Anxiang Du have been informed by Moroccan law enforcement authorities that a man they strongly believe to be the suspect has been arrested.

"The arrest happened on Saturday afternoon at a premises in Tangier and authorities believe that the visit by Northamptonshire detectives to Madrid earlier in the week played a significant part in the suspect's apprehension.

"Officers will now be progressing a formal application for extradition with the Home Office.

"There is no further detail on this development available at this stage."

The arrest comes days after detectives revealed they thought Du could have been evading capture in Morocco for more than a year.

Northamptonshire police said Du boarded a bus at Victoria station in London shortly after the family were found dead and travelled to Paris, then through France and Spain before catching a ferry from the port of Algeciras to Tangier.

The journey is believed to have taken only a few days, with Du evading capture in Morocco ever since.

Detective Chief Inspector Tom Davies, who is leading the investigation, said earlier this week: "He knew the route, he had a plan and he used that three- or four-day window after the murders to leave the country.

"We have focused on that period and the transport links in and out of London. It was painstaking work but after looking through all the departures we know he left on a bus from London Victoria to Paris.

"From there he used buses or trains to get to Algeciras where he boarded a ferry to Tangier."

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A Coventry woman and three others arrested

Four people arrested over the murder of a family of four in Northampton have been granted bail.

Police investigating the murder of the Ding family at their home last year questioned three women and a man.

A 54-year-old woman was arrested in Coventry, a woman aged 39 in Gloucester, a 22-year-old woman in Southend and a man aged 25 in London.

They were all held on suspicion of conspiracy to assist an offender and have been bailed until later this year.

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Ding murder suspect extradited to UK



A man arrested in the case of a family of four murdered at their home has been extradited from Morocco.

Jifeng and Helen Ding and their two daughters, 18-year-old Xing and Alice, 12, were stabbed at their home in Wootton, Northampton, in April 2011.

Anxiang Du was arrested in Morocco in July. He arrived at Heathrow Airport at just before 16:00 GMT on a flight from Casablanca.

He is expected to appear at Northampton Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

Northamptonshire Police said the extradition had been approved by the Moroccan Ministry of Justice in conjunction with the Home Office.

The Metropolitan Police took Mr Du into custody on his arrival at Heathrow, where it is likely he will be transferred to Northampton early on Thursday.

Deputy Chief Constable Martin Jelley said: "On behalf of Northamptonshire Police, I would like to thank all those who have been involved in this successful extradition, including Michael Ellis MP for his considerable support in progressing this with the relevant authorities."

Mr Ellis, the MP for Northampton North, said the Moroccan authorities had conducted themselves "very well" in helping Northamptonshire Police with the case.

Police believe the four members of the Ding family were all stabbed to death on the day of the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on 29 April 2011.

Mr Ding worked as a lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University and his wife worked at a school in Northampton.

Police, who had been looking for Anxiang Du in connection with the case, arrested him in Tangier in July.

He boarded a bus at London's Victoria station shortly after the family were found dead and travelled to Paris, through France and Spain, before catching a ferry from the port of Algeciras to the Moroccan city.

A BBC investigation last year found Mr Du had spent 14 months sleeping rough in Morocco before his arrest.

Mr Du, from Coventry, worked at a herbal medicine shop in Birmingham. He went missing a day after losing what had been described as a bitter court battle over his shared business interests with the Ding family.

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Anxiang Du guilty of murder of Northampton family of four



A businessman has been convicted of murdering a family of four in a revenge attack after he lost a legal case against them.

Jifeng "Jeff" Ding, his wife, Ge "Helen" Chui, and daughters Xing, 18, and Alice, 12, were stabbed to death in Wootton, Northampton, in April 2011.

Anxiang Du had denied four counts of murder but admitted killing the family.

Northampton Crown Court heard he was facing a bill of £88,000 after losing a 10-year legal battle with the couple.

Du had claimed that all four deaths were manslaughter, due to loss of control or diminished responsibility.

The court heard that the family were "massacred" by him on 29 April.

He travelled by train from his home in Coventry and left a farewell note for his wife at their shop in Birmingham, before continuing to Northampton to ask Mr Ding for money.

When the Manchester Metropolitan University lecturer refused, Du stabbed him 23 times, his wife 13 times, Xing 11 times, and Alice four times.

He then slept in the house, before stealing the family's car and heading to London, where he got a coach to Paris.

He remained on the run for 14 months until he was captured in Morocco in July 2012.

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Anxiang Du jailed for Ding family murders in Northampton



A man who murdered a family of four in a revenge attack has been jailed for life with a minimum of 40 years.

Anxiang Du stabbed Jifeng "Jeff" Ding, his wife Ge "Helen" Chui, and their daughters Xing and Alice to death at their Northampton home in April 2011.

He had lost a legal case against the couple and faced a bill of £88,000, Northampton Crown Court heard.

Sentencing Du, Mr Justice Flaux said: "This is not a case in which a whole life order is appropriate."

Du stabbed the family with "ruthless efficiency" after travelling to their home by train and bus on 29 April 2011 - the day of the royal wedding between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

He demanded money from Manchester Metropolitan University lecturer Mr Ding and, when he refused, he stabbed him 23 times and his wife 13 times.

He then went upstairs to a bedroom and killed their daughters Xing, 18, who was also known as Nancy, and 12-year-old Alice.

'Poor defenceless girls'

A-level student Xing, who had secured a place to study medicine at university, had 11 stab wounds. Her sister had four.

A 999 call made from a mobile phone during the murders featured the sisters' terrified screams and was played to the jury during the trial.

Mr Justice Flaux said: "Not content with the slaughter of the parents downstairs, you then went upstairs to the back bedroom where the two young Ding girls were cowering.

"It is apparent from the fact that Nancy's mobile made the 999 call, that they had heard what was happening downstairs and she was frantically trying to ring the police for help.

"At that moment it seems you came into the room and within a short period of time you had also murdered those poor defenceless girls."

Du then laid down and slept in the house, then later woke up and stole the family's car and fled the country.

The family's bodies were not discovered for two days.

Du was eventually arrested 14 months later in Morocco.

He admitted the killings but claimed he should be convicted of manslaughter on the basis of either diminished responsibility or loss of control.