The authorities of Shanxi, where a woman still unidentified mutilated a child of 6 years, suspect that behind the gesture is her aunt. But the woman committed suicide six days after the horrific attack on his nephew.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Chinese authorities suspect that the woman who gouged out a 6-year-old boy's eyes was his aunt who later killed herself, state media said on Wednesday, adding a surprising twist to a gruesome case with conflicting details.

Police in the city of Linfen in northern Shanxi province have identified the boy's aunt Zhang Huiying as a suspect because the boy's blood was found on her clothes, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Six days after the boy was attacked, Zhang killed herself by jumping into a well.

Initial reports said the boy, Gua Bin, was lured by an unidentified woman with a strange accent into a field on August 24 where she used an unspecified tool to gouge out his eyes.

Xinhua did not cite a possible motive for the aunt to attack the boy. State media previously had raised the possibility that the boy's corneas were taken for sale because of a donor shortage in China, but police said the boy's eyeballs were found at the scene, and that the corneas hadn't been removed. At the time, though, Guo's father said the family had not actually seen the eyeballs.

 

• china
• shanxi
• linfen
• boy
• aunt
• 6
• years
• old
• gouged
• away
• organ
• traffic