A woman hammered her former landlord to death in Massachusetts and wrapped her body in a curtain after the man discovered she was forging checks in his name.
Under the alleged scheme, Xiu Fang Ke, 43 years old, would have stolen more than $40,000 dollars to the victim, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.
Ke was arrested Wednesday for the alleged murder of former landlord Leonard Garber, of 65.
Garber’s family had reported him missing on Monday. It was at this time that Newton police visited the man’s home to investigate, but did not find him. Agents made two subsequent visits on Tuesday and discovered the body.
The victim’s body was lying under construction materials and was wrapped in a curtain, according to the release.
Preliminary data from the investigation suggest that the body could have been there for more than a day and that it had been placed in such a way that it would not be seen.
Subsequently, investigators discovered that Garber and Ke had dated and that the woman allegedly forged checks from the victim’s accounts.
Ke would have beaten him to death to Garber when he confronted her about the alleged robbery.
Surveillance images of Garber’s house revealed the presence of an Asian woman entering the house days before the body was found. Eventually, the woman was identified as Ke.
Some years ago, Ke was a tenant at Garber.
NBC Boston reported that the woman allegedly confessed to the crime to the authorities and detailed that she used a hammer to kill Garber.
“During the interview, the defendant admitted that she had stolen money from Leonard Garber with forged checks and that she had killed him,” Assistant District Attorney Julie Kunkel said at a court hearing on Wednesday. “Then he declared that he had used a hammer and hid his body in the place where the police finally found it,” added the prosecutor.
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In addition, the accused allegedly sent a message in a group chat in which she admitted that she had stolen the money, that she had gambling debts and that she wanted commit suicide.
Ke remains detained without bail.