Major General Nguyễn Thanh Tùng, deputy director of Hà Nội City Police spoke at a press conference on Monday afternoon. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI — A 38-year-old man is being prosecuted for the murder of a young woman whose dismembered body was found on the Red River on Friday last week.

Hà Nội Police Deputy Director Major General Nguyễn Thanh Tùng told a press conference that Tạ Duy Khanh, born in 1985, was arrested on Friday at his home in Đồng Thái Commune of Kiến Xương District, Thái Bình Province after fleeing from Hà Nội.

Initial investigations showed that the 17-year-old victim, identified as H.Y.N, went with Khanh to an apartment in Vinhomes Ocean Park in Gia Lâm District, Hà Nội, on Tuesday last week.

Due to conflicts, Khanh stabbed N. with a knife multiple times, leading to her death.

Major General Tùng said that Khanh led the victim to the apartment while his wife and child were at another place.

“He used a large knife and stabbed the victim repeatedly, causing her demise. Then he dragged and dismembered the body in the bathroom,” said the police officer.

The body parts were put into a foam box, which Khanh then left near the Red River in Bát Tràng Commune.

Last Friday morning, Khanh was accused of going to the riverbank to cover the body parts with cement, which he then pushed down the stream.

Major General Tùng said that this was a difficult case because much of the evidence had been erased, while the body pieces were found far away from one another.

With no personal documents on the body, Hà Nội City Police also worked with police forces across 63 cities and provinces to identify the victim.

When arrested, Khanh tried to commit suicide with a knife but was taken to the emergency room in time by authorities. — VNS