Hong Kong police have detained four people in connection with the murder of a model and influencer, in a case that horrified the city.
The victim, Abby Choi, 28, had appeared in the pages of fashion magazines and enjoyed a wide following social media, where she posted photos of herself attending fashion events around the world dressed in couture. A young mother, she was divorced and remarried; her ex-husband, along with his parents and brother, are suspects in her death.
Ms. Choi was reported missing early Wednesday. Hong Kong Police Superintendent Alan Chung, who is leading the investigation, said officers discovered her partial, dismembered remains on Friday, along with a meat grinder and power saw, in a seaside residence owned by Ms Choi’s ex-husband’s father. had started renting in Lung Mei Village this month.
Mr Chung said at a press conference on Saturday that Ms Choi had had disputes with members of her ex-husband’s family over the handling of finances, and that those relatives had given police misleading information that had delayed the investigation. Ms. Choi’s former father-in-law and brother-in-law, who worked as Ms. Choi’s driver, were arrested on Friday and charged with murder on Sunday.
The former mother-in-law of Mrs. Choi was charged with perverting the course of justice.
On Saturday, officers intercepted Ms Choi’s ex-husband – whom police identified only by his surname, Kwong – at a ferry pier.
“We believe he intended to escape from Hong Kong by sea,” said Mr. Chung. “We have reason to believe that this man, along with his father and older brother, had a part in the murder of the deceased.”
Mr Kwong, 28, is currently being questioned, he said.
Police also began a major search on Saturday for the rest of Ms Choi’s remains at a hillside cemetery that her former father-in-law and brother-in-law had visited after she was reported missing. More than 100 people were deployed, including divers who ended up in a drainage ditch near the cemetery. The effort continued on Sunday.
Mrs. Choi prided herself on her sartorial taste. When she the digital cover mockup for L’Officiel Monacoa fashion magazine, two weeks ago, she wrote on Instagram: “My journey as a style icon continues.”
“I’m a person who keeps getting inspired and always trying new styles,” she said in an interview with the magazine. “Sometimes I also try to dress more extravagantly, by mixing and combining different looks.”
According to the police, the children of Ms. Choi and her ex-husband were now in the care of her mother.