Man guilty of dismembering his friend and dumping his torso in a suitcase.
Ming Jiang, 43, has been found guilty of murder.
Last updated 28th Apr 2017
A gambler who murdered his friend, stuffed his dismembered body in a suitcase and set it on fire has been found guilty.
Ming Jiang, 43, (pictured above) tried to solve his gambling and debt problems by killing fellow Chinese man Yang Lui, 36, (pictured below) before chopping up his body and stuffing the torso in a suitcase, hoping police would be unable to identify the victim.
The suitcase was found on 10th October last year by walkers just off the A628 road in Tintwistle, Derbyshire.
Enquiries revealed that the murder had taken place at Jiang’s house in Beswick and a search of the property found a number of blood stained items.
Evidence of a clean-up was also discovered where Jiang had attempted to wash sofa cushions and clothes in a bid to hide his crime.
After his death, Jiang assumed Lui’s identity and splurged over £100,000 of his money in the 235 Casino in the city centre.
When he was arrested, Jiang was found in possession of a number of Lui’s identification documents.
Detective Chief Inspector Terry Crompton, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “My thoughts are with Lui’s family who have been completely torn apart by his death.
“I want to thank them for their support throughout and I’m sorry that they were not able to be here today to see this sentence due to illness.
“Not content with committing the brutal and disturbing murder of his friend, Jiang sought to hide his crimes by abandoning and burning his body before stealing his identity, emptying his bank account and trying to sell his property.
“The pain of Lui’s death will haunt his family every day but I hope that him being found guilty today will help them to begin to repair the damage inflicted by Jiang’s despicable crime.”
Paying tribute to him, Liu’s family said: “We could not believe that this disaster could have happened to us.
“The pain we’re suffering is beyond words. We think of our son all the time and we strongly condemn the brutality of the murderer.
“Our son was warm and full of life. He was also kind. Since birth, he always wore a smile on his face. He was well loved by his family, relatives and neighbours.
“When our son is mentioned, we cry with tears running down our faces. Our physical and mental sufferings can never ever be repaired.”
Sentencing will take place next Tuesday.