Modern day 'Jack the Ripper' arrested in Western China

Lanzhou, the capital of China&#039;s Gansu province.

(Image credit: iStock)

last updated 29 August 2016

Chinese police have arrested a 52-year-old man from Lanzhou who they believe murdered 11 people during a 14-year rampage. If confirmed, the arrest of Gao Chengyong could mark the end of a nearly three-decade-long hunt for China's "Jack the Ripper."

The first of the killer's victims, 23, was murdered in 1988, and discovered with 26 stab wounds; the youngest victim was 8. "The killings, the last in 2002, had several characteristics in common. The killer tended to single out women who were wearing red. He is said to have followed them home, usually attacking them during the daytime. Sometimes he raped them before stabbing them to death, and sometimes he did so after they had died," The New York Times reports. The killer was deemed "China's Jack the Ripper," after the Victorian serial killer of the same name who was never caught.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox