Ding Family Murders: Chinese Man Extradited

A Chinese man, who was arrested on suspicion of murdering a family in their Northampton home, has appeared in court after being extradited to the UK.

Businessman Anxiang Du wore a white hoodie and blue shirt as he stood in the dock at Northampton Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

He spoke through a Mandarin interpreter to confirm his name, age and address.

A bail hearing will take place on Friday, and he will appear at Northampton Crown Court on March 15 at 10am.

Du was arrested in Morocco last year on suspicion of killing university lecturer Jifeng "Jeff" Ding and his family.

He arrived in the UK on Wednesday on a flight from Casablanca after approval from the Moroccan Ministry of Justice.

Mr Ding, his wife Helen and their two daughters, Alice, 12, and Xing, 18, were found stabbed in Wootton, Northampton, on May 1, 2011.

The murders happened two days before their bodies were discovered.

Deputy Chief Constable Martin Jelley said: "On behalf of Northamptonshire Police, I would like to thank all those who have been involved in this successful extradition, including Michael Ellis MP for his considerable support in progressing this with the relevant authorities."

When Du was arrested by Moroccan authorities last July, detectives said they believed he could have been evading capture in Morocco for more than a year.

He boarded a bus at London's Victoria station shortly after the family were found dead and travelled to Paris, through France and Spain, before catching a ferry from the Spanish port of Algeciras to Tangier.

The journey is believed to have taken only a few days, and Du had evaded capture in Morocco ever since. Police said he had several thousand pounds in cash when he left the UK.