Photo: Screenshot of Pear Video

A man in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, was arrested on suspicion of intentional homicide by local police on Thursday after the brutal murder of his wife shocked China.

The man, surnamed Xu, allegedly killed his wife, surnamed Lai, while she was sleeping, dismembered her and flushed some of the body parts down the toilet on July 5. 

Xu reported Lai as "missing" to the police on July 6 and allegedly told lies in following media interviews, attempting to make himself look innocent. 

Lai's suspicious disappearance, which left police with few clues to follow up on, and Xu's unflappable demeanor sparked a huge reaction on Chinese social media, with many speculating that Xu was the culprit.

On July 24, Xu confessed that he murdered Lai due to a family conflict. 

Global Times