Model’s in-laws charged after body parts found in Hong Kong

HONG KONG (AP) — Police in Hong Kong filed murder charges against the former in-laws of a model and influencer whose body parts were found in a refrigerator and a skull believed to be hers in a pot at a rural house.

Hong Kong model Abby Choi's former father-in-law and his eldest son were charged with murder, while her former mother-in-law faces one count of perverting the course of justice, police said in a statement Sunday.

Authorities also arrested the woman's ex-husband on Saturday and will charge him with murder on Sunday night, said Superintendent Alan Chung. The four will appear in court on Monday.

The grisly case came to light when police on Friday discovered Choi's body and documents after she had been missing for several days. The body was dissected and the remains stored in a refrigerator in the rural village home in Tai Po, a suburban part of Hong Kong closer to the border with mainland China.

At Sunday's news briefing, Chung said authorities found a young woman's skull believed to belong to Choi in one of the cooking pots they seized, alongside several ribs, hair, and human issues. In another pot, forensic pathologists also discovered a small number of human bones, he added.

“There's a hole on the right side rear on the skull, so the pathologist believes that that should be the fatal attack on the victim,” he said.

Chung said Choi was believed to have been attacked in a car and was unconscious when she arrived at the house. Police were still trying to find out the exact time of death and locate her hands and torso.

On Sunday, police also arrested another woman they believed to be the mistress of the ex-husband's father for allegedly assisting the other suspects. Chung said she had rented the house together with the father, as well as another place to hide the ex-husband.

Choi, 28, had financial disputes involving tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars with her ex-husband and his family, Chung said earlier, adding that “some people” were unhappy with how Choi handled her financial assets.

Choi was a model and influencer who shared her glamorous life of photo shoots and fashion shows with more than 100,000 followers. Dressed in a tulle floor-length gown, she had just attended a Dior show at Paris Fashion Week.

Her last post was a week ago, featuring a photoshoot she had done with L’Officiel Monaco, a fashion publication.