TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A murder case that occurred 28 years ago in Taoyuan, involving a body found in a Taiwanese glove puppet box, has been solved, police said Tuesday (Aug. 20).
The case was uncovered in June 1996 when a passerby found a decomposed body inside a puppet box. Limited DNA technology and the advanced state of decomposition hindered the initial investigation, per CNA.
A breakthrough in the case came in January 2023 when a guilty conscience led to a confession. Three of the four suspects have since died.
A woman surnamed Chang (張), who ran a noodle shop in New Taipei, was being harassed by a man surnamed Chiu (邱) in late April 1996, the Taoyuan City Police Department said. Chang asked her 14-year-old son to seek help from his baseball teammate's father, surnamed Chien (簡).
Chien and his colleague surnamed Liao (廖) confronted Chiu at the noodle shop. A heated argument led to violence.
Chien and Liao beat Chiu with an aluminum baseball bat and their bare hands until he was barely alive. They stuffed Chiu's body into a wooden puppet box.
The duo drove from Shulin to Taoyuan's Guishan. They disposed of the box in thick grass.
After a year-long investigation, police identified four suspects: Chien and his son, Liao, and a man surnamed Kang (康), who helped dispose of the body. Chien is the only suspect still alive.
Chien, a puppet master, admitted to beating Chiu to death with a baseball bat. He was charged with murder but avoided conviction due to the statute of limitations.
