British Banker Arrested, Women Bodies Found In Suitcases

Hong Kong police held a British banker and continue to interrogate him over the murder of two young women, one of whom was discovered inside a suitcase.
Rurik Jutting, 29, who attended University of Cambridge and Winchester College, was arrested after the bodies were discovered in an apartment in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district.

It is understood that police arrived at the apartment in the early hours of Saturday morning after receiving a call from the suspect, who until recently worked for the Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

  

Officers arrived to find the body of a woman, aged between 25 and 30, lying naked in the living room with knife wounds to her neck and backside. They also encountered a small amount of cocaine in the flat.

Assistant Commander Wan Siu-hung told reporters: "We believe the death was caused by a sharp object which cut the throat of the deceased.

"This led to copious bleeding. When the police found her, she was lying in the living room. The room was messy."

Eight hours later, at about noon on Saturday, police widened the forensic examination of the apartment and made the second discovery.

 

Government workers remove one of the two female bodies from a residential flat at Hong Kong's Wanchai district

Police have been searching the flat where the women's bodies were found

The body of a second woman was found wrapped in a blanket inside a brown suitcase on a balcony at the apartment.

She too had wounds to the neck, and it is believed the victim had been dead "for quite some time". Police sources have told local media that the second victim is a 25-year-old who they believe worked in the sex industry.

A police spokesman added: "From what we can see it was intentionally hidden because it was put in a travel suitcase."

Neighbours told Sky News the smell from the apartment on the 31st floor was "horrendous" and had even permeated to the 26th floor.

Police have confirmed no further details regarding his identity or nationality though it is understood one of the women was from Indonesia, while the other was from the Philippines.

Policeman takes a photo on the balcony of a unit in which two women's bodies were found in a flat at Hong Kong's Wanchai district

One of the bodies was found hiden in a suitcase on the balcony

Mr Jutting studied history and law at Cambridge University.

He had worked for Merrill Lynch from 2010 until only a couple of days ago, spending three years at their offices in London before moving to Hong Kong in July last year. Prior to that he worked at Barclays in London.

The neighbourhood of Wan Chai is effectively Hong Kong's red light district. A large number of women from southeast Asia spend time in the district's many bars and clubs.

Hong Kong police can hold their suspect for up to 48 hours without charging or releasing him. 

Sky news