Several York students could have links with the murder of an illegal immigrant, it has emerged.
The body of 38-year-old Cai Guan Chen was found beaten and dumped in a Yorkshire canal in March. Last week police swooped on a York house that is likely to have had student tenants, as part of an on-going murder inquiry.
Although the police could not yet confirm any details of the tenants, the property under investigation has been found listed online as student housing.
The Accommodation Office at the University of York also said they “have it listed as student accommodation.” Estate agency York Student Accommodation refused to comment.
Cai Guan Chen had been living in the UK since 2001 using the fake name Bing Lin. An off-duty policeman discovered his body two or three weeks after he was murdered.
A neighbour of the raided house told Vision that there were five Chinese residents but other people were “coming and going all the time.”
“We said hello to each other, but there was no conversation between us,” he said.
The windows of the York property have now been boarded up by authorities.
The murder investigation had been held back because police were unable to identify the body. However, after an appeal for information including a poster campaign on campus, North Yorkshire Police were able to reveal that “he is believed to have lived in various locations around the UK and his last-known address was in the London area.”
Detective Superintendent Karnail Dulku, who is leading the investigation said: “It is believed he has been murdered elsewhere and his body deposited in the canal.”
“All life is precious and what this man has suffered I’m sure he didn’t deserve. It is a brutal attack and he’s been presumably dumped in the canal to prevent them being caught.”
A police spokesperson said: “Investigations are continuing to trace the people responsible for his death and police are following a number of positive leads.”
If you have any information that may help the investigation, phone North Yorkshire Police on 0845 60 60 247 or phone Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.