Headless woman found in package in Guangzhou

THE headless body of a woman has been found in a package at a logistics company in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, in south China.

The body also had no feet and some reports said the woman appeared to have been pregnant.

A company worker found the body in a nylon bag inside the blood-soaked package about 11am on Friday, local newspapers reported today.

An autopsy revealed the woman was about 30 and had been dead for several days.

Police sealed off the premises and interrogated all employees.

The package had a false name and address, police said.

A criminal psychologist said the murder might be the work of a copycat killer, because local media have recently been reporting the trial of a man charged over a similar case a year ago.

It is the third such case in Guangzhou.

Suspects in the previous two cases were both logistics workers. A man has been charged with killing the former lover of his mistress at the beginning of last year and sending parts of the body to several cities around the country via three major local logistic companies.

The other suspect was accused of killing a prostitute in February 2004 and sending the body wrapped in carpet to a local delivery company.

Guangzhou police have set up a task force to investigate the latest case.