The bodies of (35) and Chi Lifen (30), a Chinese couple that has been missing since 2020, were found in drums in an Eastview dam in Harare on Thursday, ZimLive reported. The couple had disappeared on Valentine’s Day after visiting a friend in Highlands, Harare.
The investigation was launched when the duo’s white Mercedes Benz ML was found abandoned along Acturus Road with the keys still in the ignition.
Solving the case:
The couple’s friends and relatives offered a reward of ZWL$1 million in 2020 for information regarding the couple’s whereabouts. The Zimbabwe Republic Police CID Homicide and Interpol collaborated to find the couple.
The couple’s vehicle was later found parked along Arcturus Road, with the keys inside, but their firearm and destination remained unknown.
Zimbabwean investigators, with assistance from Chinese authorities, eventually made a breakthrough in the case after recovering Ding’s mobile phone. They used it to reconstruct the couple’s final hours, which included a visit to their friend Xu Lin Lin.
Xu Lin Lin and his associate, Luo Yengshen, were tracked and located by Chinese law enforcement. They then implicated another Chinese national, Chen Long, who was arrested in Harare in May. Despite initially withholding information, Chen Long eventually revealed the location of the couple’s bodies.
Divers discovered the remains of Lei Ding and Chi Lifen in drums at the Eastview dam. Xu Lin Lin and Luo Yengshen are expected to be extradited from China to face charges of kidnapping and murder.